If you have given birth early, and you are staring at your premature infant through the sides of a protective isolette, you may wonder what you can do to help you baby when it seems machines and nurses are the only ones that know what to do. A stay in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is always scary at first, though some parents become comfortable there after a longer stay. When you are faced with this situation, you are going to feel things you never thought you would feel, and you are going to feel pretty helpless. There are some things you can do to make your stay there a bit more bearable and a bit more rewarding.
The NICU is where your baby is going to live for a while. The best news is that the NICU is the very best place for a premature infant, other than inside the womb. If your child is just a few weeks early, they may not be there very long. A premature infant that is born more than a month early may have to stay a lot longer, and may need to be in a level three NICU. This is a more specialized unit. The doctors will tell you if your baby needs to go somewhere else or if they are equipped to care for him or her. If the baby must be moved, they will stabilize the baby's condition before they attempt something like that.
While you are in the NICU, you may feel pretty helpless because you feel that you can not help care for your premature infant. This is not true at all, and you will learn that soon enough. The staff will try to get you to do as much as you can safely do. Your baby remembers your smell and will respond favorably if you can take over some of the care while you are there. The first things you may do to care for your premature infant would be to change diapers and take temperature. You may also assist in gavage feedings after you are told how to feed them and why you are doing what you are doing.
Another thing that parents can do to help their premature infant is to pump breast milk. We all know breast milk is best for all babies, but this can be a life saver for premature babies. Everything that baby needs is in that milk. Mom's body knows the baby was born early, and may adjust the breast milk to be more beneficial to a premature infant. It's amazing how the human body works. That breast milk will help your baby thrive, offers immunities, and may ultimately mean your baby goes home earlier. Pump and store as much milk as you can. Even a few weeks is a huge gift to your child.
Lastly, when wanting to help your premature baby, hold them as much as you can. They staff will tell you how often you can safely hold them and all about how Kangaroo Care can benefit them. It helps stabilize a premature infant and can lessen apnea and bradycardia episodes. You may only be able to hold them once a day, but they may ask you to do so for an hour or more. Every moment spent in your arms is wonderful for your premature infant. You may not think you are doing much, but your touch, voice, and smell can work wonders for their well-being.
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