Neonatal intensive care units or NICU, are big life savers. But how does it feel when you give birth to a wonderful baby and within 15 minutes the baby is taken to NICU? It is heart breaking. My daughter was taken to NICU right after birth and she stayed there for 22 days. I have summed up the NICU Dos here.
On a humorous note, may be she wanted to avoid the mess for another 22 days. However, it was tough on us. We were frightened, worried, insecure, tired. But this was out of or hands. All we can do is, to be strong and to hang on. I decided to do this post for all the parents-to-be. God forbid that it happens to anyone but to be knowledgeable helps.
What should be done if your baby has to be taken to NICU? I jotted down some tips.
Communicate – Don’t be shy. You are the parent and you have the right to know it everything. Go ask the doctor about what's going on? We used to ask for all the details about our girl from the doctor or the nurse practitioner.
Meet your baby often – I used to go morning and evening, for 22 days while my daughter was in NICU, to meet her. They allowed me to hold her skin to skin. I used to talk to her, sing her lullabies. It is a fact that a baby knows his/her own mother since he or she gains consciousness in the mother's womb. So just be there with them in NICU and let them realize that you are there. If the doctor allows, hold your baby skin to skin. This helps with bonding between parents and baby. Dads, you can do skin to skin as well. If it is not allowed to hold the baby, talk to the baby. Let him know that you love him and you are there for him.
Store breast milk - While baby is in NICU, store breast milk in storage bottles and freeze them. Take them along when you go to see your baby. Don’t let it drain just because your baby is not home yet. Breast milk is the best for baby. You can ask the NICU staff for storage bottles. Most of them provide it easily.
Read about it – Google what doctor thinks the baby has and read about it as much as possible. It will help you understand more about what is going on and you won’t feel lost. Knowledge is always helpful.
Discuss milestones – Discuss with doctor or nurse practitioner about the improvement signs that they are looking for. What will be the important milestones? How long will it take on an average to recover? We even used to check the x-rays that they took of our baby.
Insurance coverage – Nothing is more important than the baby’s health but if any extra procedures are being done, call your health insurance guy and start pulling some strings to get it covered. For our baby, they called a team from outside to put some pick lines into her. We talked with the hospital and insurance company to make sure they were covered.
Be patient – I almost lost it by 15th day. I was so angry with the NICU staff and doctors. I felt as if they just want to keep her there for no reason. But all they wanted was to make sure that she is a healthy child when she leaves NICU. So just be patient. It takes time to set it right.
My best wishes to all the parents-to-be and I pray that you have a happy and healthy baby.