A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a hospital area equipped to treat premature or seriously ill babies. NICUs have specialized equipment and trained professionals, and babies may need feeding tubes, IVs, warmers, and ventilators. Parents have 24-hour visitation rights, but there may be restrictions on other visitors.
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an area of a hospital specially equipped to treat babies born prematurely or with a serious illness. These babies require intensive medical care and it is in the NICU where they can get the care they need. Other names for a NICU include NICU, intensive care daycare, and special care daycare.
There are numerous reasons why a baby needs to spend time in the NICU. Prematurity, when a baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation, would be a reason for admission to the NICU. The same is true for a baby born with a low birth weight, typically anything under 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms). Medical conditions including birth defects, heart problems and infections would also be the cause for a baby to be admitted to a NICU.
There are specialized equipment and machinery in the NICU. Feeding tubes are needed for those babies who are unable to get the nutrition they need through regular meals. Babies in the NICU typically need an intravenous (IV) catheter to deliver fluids and medications. Baby warmers are beds with heaters on top of them, while islets are small, temperature-controlled beds encased in hard, clear plastic. Ventilators help children who have difficulty breathing.
Babies in the NICU are connected to a monitor through the use of cables, which are small stickers attached to wires. These cables provide the monitor with information about your baby’s heart rate and breathing. A pulse oximeter attaches to a child’s fingers or toes and provides information about oxygen levels to the same monitor. A temperature probe, which is a band-aid that you stick to your baby’s skin, keeps track of your baby’s temperature. Your child may also have a blood pressure cuff and information from this will also appear on the monitor.
TIN-trained professionals have diverse backgrounds. A neonatologist is a pediatrician who specializes in the care of sick and premature babies. The neonatologist supervises nurses and NICU residents. Other professionals in or associated with the NICU are occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, dieticians, lactation consultants, pharmacists, and social workers.
The NICU may have limitations not found in the rest of the hospital. Management of newborns varies from baby to baby depending on medical conditions. Parents typically have 24-hour visitation rights, but there may be very strict restrictions on other visitors.
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