Visiting Your Baby in the NICU
Visiting Your Baby in the NICUVisitation from parents and other appropriate family members is one of the best ways to help bond with a babyin the NICU.Danyel Harber makes visiting baby Izzy part of her daily routine. She was born at 25 weeks and is gettingstronger every day.“The first thing I do in the morning is I come in and put my stuff down and just immediately start talkingto her. I do believe that she can hear me. I believe she knows who I am and knows that whether I’mhere or not.”Anyone who enters the NICU must do a thorough hand washing and sanitizing before they are allowed to benear the baby. The NICU also has strict guidelines about who can visit – especially when it comes to siblings.“We screen siblings to make sure they don’t have any cold symptoms or any fevers which could becontagious.”For family members who can’t visit a baby personally, NICU staff will still try to provide ways to interact withbaby.“We’d make sure the family sees the baby; we have pictures, we’ve used computers, whatever it takesto get the family and the baby to interact and become a family.”Or you can always get creative in parenting.“My husband laughs at me because I can’t dress her up at this point, so I buy blankets and I dress herbed up and I put bows on her. I just do those kinds of things and I play music for her. Anything that youcan do for her. Even just standing over her bed talking to her.”If a baby is stable enough, doctors may even encourage something called “Kangaroo Care,” where mothersand fathers will hold a baby under their clothes for skin-to-skin contact to warm and sooth the infant.“Skin to skin contact is very positive. The babies are able to maintain their temperature and often theyrelax and then can feel the heat of the mother, the skin of the mother, and the scent of the mother. Allthose things are very important.”One other way to help babies in the NICU is for mothers to breast feed. Hospitals often supply mothers withthe necessary containers and labeling information for them to pump milk at home to bring to the NICU.“Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for premature babies and newborns because it provides thenutritional elements for adequate growth and development. Furthermore, breast milk containsantibodies and some other elements that help babies to fight infection.”“I know that it’s very good for her, that all the antibodies and the good bacteria and you know they talkabout even just the first few days what your breast milk can provide for your baby and if I’m able to doit, I’m willing to, if my milk comes in then I’m going to.”“If the baby’s intestines seem ready for food but the baby is not coordinated, we would put in a littlefeeding tube, it looks like a piece of spaghetti with a hollow core, it’s very soft very flexible. We’ll put iteither in the baby’s mouth or the baby’s nose.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.VER59718A EN VisitingYourBabyInTheNICU.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 2Visiting Your Baby in the NICUEach day in the NICU gets babies closer to the time when they can go home with their families. The Harborfamily is anxiously awaiting the introduction of Izzie to her older siblings Noah and Olivia.“You have to take it one day at a time. You have to learn that things are going to happen that are out ofyour control, but you have to try and find the best in everything. And you just, you have faith, you havehope, you pray and you’re going to take your baby home.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.VER59718A EN VisitingYourBabyInTheNICU.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 2 of 2
© The Wellness Network
