NICU

  • Breastfeeding the Premature Baby

    Too often mothers have preventable problems with breastfeeding. Many hospital routines make it difficult for mothers and babies to breastfeed successfully. When the baby is born prematurely, mothers may have even more difficulty with breastfeeding, and this is unfortunate because premature babies need breastmilk and breastfeeding even more than healthy full term babies.

  • Difficult Decision-Making in the NICU

    What you are going through is so painful, and all your reactions, thoughts, and emotions are not crazy, but a natural part of the grief you are feeling over this terrible situation. You share much emotional common ground with other preemie parents whose babies are in critical condition.

  • Can Dreams About Premature Birth Be a Warning?

    QUESTION

    Dear Ms Ultrasound,
    I am 25 wks pregnant with my third child.

    This is my fourth pregnancy as I miscarried in between my son and daughter. When I was carrying each of them( even the one we weren't blessed enough to meet)I had the regular weird pregnancy dreams. Just things that do no make sense I had come accustomed to those.

  • How to Be a NICU Mom

    I need help with how to be a NICU mom. My baby was born at term, but was transferred to another hospital because of trouble breathing. Now he is being slowly weaned off the oxygen to room air, and once he can breathe well on his own he has to prove to them he can eat.

  • Bringing Your Baby Home from the Neonatal ICU

    It's natural to have mixed emotions when you take your baby (or babies!) home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. You're thrilled to have Cherub all to yourself, but struggle with doubts: Can you really care for this fragile being? Do you really understand what that care consists of?

  • Tips on Sensory Stimulation of Your Premature Infant in the NICU

    Your infant is in need of specialized care that only a NICU and specially trained staff can deliver. The environment that you entered into may be confusing, scary and overwhelming for all concerned. All you want to do is hold your child and not let go.

  • Pumping Breast Milk for Your Hospitalized Baby

    I could desperately use some advice on pumping. My daughter is 15 days old and in the intensive care unit. She will most likely be there for months and I have been pumping, trying to build up a supply for her. She currently has a feeding tube and is only getting 3cc an hour, so even the little I have been able to get should last a while. But I am at the end of my rope and am about the give up.

  • Finding a High-Risk Obstetrician

    QUESTION

    Dear Experts,
    I am thinking about getting pregnant, but my last two pregnancies have been very complicated. My first daughter came at 26 weeks and had to stay in the NICU for 4 months following her birth. She weighed 1 pound 13 ounces.

  • Serving the Best Interests of Your Child

    If your baby is still in the NICU, you can be as active as you want in seeing that your baby receives appropriate, sensitive care. Remember that your baby is a member of your family, and you are the parent.

  • Meeting the Challenges of Breast-Feeding in the NICU

    Unfortunately, while your preemie is hospitalized, you may not always receive effective guidance and support in your attempts to breast-feed. Your desire to breast-feed or the pace that you had imagined for feeding your baby might not match the staff's routines.

  • Nolan's Birth

    I started having contractions on Monday, December 1. They were about 5 minutes apart the whole day and we were excited that it finally seemed to be "IT." I was due November 23, so I was ready!

  • Finding a High-Risk Obstetrician

    QUESTION

    Dear Experts,
    I am thinking about getting pregnant, but my last two pregnancies have been very complicated. My first daughter came at 26 weeks and had to stay in the NICU for 4 months following her birth. She weighed 1 pound 13 ounces.

  • Difficult Decision-Making in the NICU

    What you are going through is so painful, and all your reactions, thoughts, and emotions are not crazy, but a natural part of the grief you are feeling over this terrible situation. You share much emotional common ground with other preemie parents whose babies are in critical condition.

  • Pumping Breast Milk for Your Hospitalized Baby

    I could desperately use some advice on pumping. My daughter is 15 days old and in the intensive care unit. She will most likely be there for months and I have been pumping, trying to build up a supply for her. She currently has a feeding tube and is only getting 3cc an hour, so even the little I have been able to get should last a while. But I am at the end of my rope and am about the give up.

  • Caring for Your Premature Infant

    Babies born before the 37th week of gestation are born prematurely. Premature newborns are sometimes given the nickname, "preemies." Mothers who have their baby prematurely are often scared and nervous. Below is a brief description of what to expect when it comes to the care for your newborn preemie.

  • How to Be a NICU Mom

    I need help with how to be a NICU mom. My baby was born at term, but was transferred to another hospital because of trouble breathing. Now he is being slowly weaned off the oxygen to room air, and once he can breathe well on his own he has to prove to them he can eat.

  • Meeting the Challenges of Breast-Feeding in the NICU

    Unfortunately, while your preemie is hospitalized, you may not always receive effective guidance and support in your attempts to breast-feed. Your desire to breast-feed or the pace that you had imagined for feeding your baby might not match the staff's routines.

  • Marie Chronicles -- Labor Entry

    This last month has been a total whirlwind. I'm finally able to sit here and recall the last moments of a beautiful, albeit hard journey in my life and to write them down, to remember forever what it was like the last weeks I was pregnant with my precious twin daughters.

  • Bringing Your Baby Home from the Neonatal ICU

    It's natural to have mixed emotions when you take your baby (or babies!) home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. You're thrilled to have Cherub all to yourself, but struggle with doubts: Can you really care for this fragile being? Do you really understand what that care consists of?

  • Tristine's Triumph -- The Birth Story

    The Birth Story
    Editor's Note: Here is the long awaited final entry! Oops! Did you not read the rest of her journal from the beginning? No worry, at the end of this entry is a pull down menu and you can read all of the entries in order, or not. Enjoy!

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