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The premature baby - Issues for families and siblings
It’s an understatement that having a premature infant in a NICU is stressful for parents and family members.
The frequent ups and downs, or in reality, the downs associated with late-night ‘bad news’ telephone calls from the NICU strain even the best of family relationships. Financial issues often come up as parents worry about the expense of their baby’s care or time lost from work. Fortunately, most NICUs have full-time social workers who can be extremely helpful in bringing focus to a problem (or problems) or mediate inter-parental strains. They also are aware of community resources that frequently can help with problems parents are experiencing associated with the hospitalization of their baby.
Most NICUs encourage sibling visitation for all but the youngest children. Parents often worry that the NICU environment will be frightening to children. NICU staff can help in explaining the surroundings, and siblings seem to adjust to the situation better than their parents. Especially for younger children, short visits are better than longer ones. Older children can often participate in their brother’s care by changing a diaper or holding him.
Visits by grandparents and special friends are permitted and encouraged by most NICUs. Such visits usually require that a parent be present at the time of the visit. The website named CaringBridge® is an excellent service for parents to keep family and friends up to date on their baby’s progress. Most NICUs participate in the service.
This article is an extract from our book: Caring for your newborn - How to enjoy the first 60 days as a new mom
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By Dr Robert Dillard - Dr Dillard is the Professor of Pediatrics at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Sara Lee Center for Women’s Health at Forsyth Medical Center.
The frequent ups and downs, or in reality, the downs associated with late-night ‘bad news’ telephone calls from the NICU strain even the best of family relationships. Financial issues often come up as parents worry about the expense of their baby’s care or time lost from work. Fortunately, most NICUs have full-time social workers who can be extremely helpful in bringing focus to a problem (or problems) or mediate inter-parental strains. They also are aware of community resources that frequently can help with problems parents are experiencing associated with the hospitalization of their baby.
Most NICUs encourage sibling visitation for all but the youngest children. Parents often worry that the NICU environment will be frightening to children. NICU staff can help in explaining the surroundings, and siblings seem to adjust to the situation better than their parents. Especially for younger children, short visits are better than longer ones. Older children can often participate in their brother’s care by changing a diaper or holding him.
Visits by grandparents and special friends are permitted and encouraged by most NICUs. Such visits usually require that a parent be present at the time of the visit. The website named CaringBridge® is an excellent service for parents to keep family and friends up to date on their baby’s progress. Most NICUs participate in the service.
This article is an extract from our book: Caring for your newborn - How to enjoy the first 60 days as a new mom
By Dr Robert Dillard - Dr Dillard is the Professor of Pediatrics at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Sara Lee Center for Women’s Health at Forsyth Medical Center.
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