What happens in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit?

 

The NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is set up for neonates who require constant care, they might be suffering from illness or are severely underweight. Neonates are newborn babies under the one-month-old, during this period their livers and lungs are still developing to adapt to the new environment. There are many situations that lead to the baby being admitted to the NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, below are just some instances.

Babies born prematurely or severely underweight are the usual reasons of admission. Severely underweight babies are unable to insulate themselves from coldness, and the swaddling is not enough to keep them warm. Babies born more than three weeks before due are considered as premature babies, they usually have underdeveloped lungs and liver.

Mothers who are taking medications or illicit drugs during conception will find that newborn babies will suffer from withdrawal. It is known that morphine, alcohol, and benzodiazepines are drugs that can pass through the placenta and affect the baby.

 After the baby is born, the supply of medication is cut off and the baby will suffer from withdrawal syndrome. It is best when the mother is honest about the using of medications during conception, and babies will be placed in NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and given medications to help wean off the substance from the system. It is noted that most babies will not come out of this ordeal unscathed. Many suffer from brain damage, such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. In severe cases sudden infant death may occur, although researchers are unable to explain why.

After being born, some babies will suffer from seizures or bleeding in the brain during delivery. These babies require constant monitoring with special equipment to ensure that there is no further harm to the baby. If required medications will be given via special infusions and doses that are calculated by a pharmacist. A sick infant is harder to care for because communication is not available in neonates, they can only cry to indicate that they are unhappy. Neonatal nurses are trained to care for these fragile beings when they are in NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, but even they are unable to understand every cry.

It can be frustrating as a parent to see your precious bundle in an incubator instead of in your own arms. Remember that babies respond well to a mother’s voice and touch and that is why most hospitals have a policy to include the parents in caring for the neonate. Neonates require constant care, some more than others. The bond between a mother and child is special and health professionals commend on the miracles the bond creates.

Neonatal Critical Care

 Neonatal critical care consists of an experienced and intellectual medical team of various staff. The NICU has various instruments to take care of the varied complications of the babies. The comments are the incubator, which helps the babies to be warm and to get sufficient oxygen. Open type warmers are mainly to maintain the temperature and then they have pediatric ventilators and CPAP machines that regulate breathing. Phototherapy is given to infants who have jaundice and head boxes are also used. Along with these, there are common procedures of using tubes, intravenous infusion, blood pressure monitoring, and thermo regulators for maintaining the body temperature.

The problems due to which the newborn babies are transferred to neonatal care unit include hypothermia, dehydration and malnourishment. Health providers like doctors, infant specialist doctor, senior nurse, consultant neonatologist or pediatrician, junior doctors, surgeons, physiotherapist, radiographers for taking scans and x-rays, pharmacist, dietician and a social worker is involved in the multidisciplinary team providing neonatal care.