Lesson 3: Infant family presence in the NICU
3.1 Introduction
Most parents and families are not prepared for the care of a preterm infant. Preterm labor can begin suddenly. After birth the newborn may be whisked away to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), sometimes in a different hospital from its mother. Parents may find themselves having to cope with a new and frightening situation while scrambling to make arrangements for care of older children or employment leave. The baby they had expected to bring home in a few months has suddenly arrived, but they cannot hold it in their arms without worrying about tubes and monitors. And the future of this child is suddenly very uncertain.
Many resources are available to parents as they go through the experience of having a preterm infant in the NICU. A very valuable support for parents is the opportunity to share their experiences with other parents and families.
The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) offers a wealth of information and resources on all aspects of prematurity and preterm birth, including the time in the neonatal intensive care unit and after discharge home. It also has listings of national organizations for parents of preterm infants throughout Europe and the rest of the world (EFCNI 2015).
The March of Dimes Foundation in the United States promotes the health of pregnant women and their babies. It provides numerous resources for families of preterm infants, including information for parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (March of Dimes 2015).
Parents may at first feel superfluous and helpless, unable to care for their own infant. Nothing could be further from the truth: even during an infant's time in a NICU, parents can make vital contributions to the health and well-being of their baby.