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If your baby is in the NICU, kangaroo care can seem like a life saver. Kangaroo care is a way to hold your baby so that there is as much skin contact between you and your baby as possible. It has wonderful benefits for both you and your baby.

For kangaroo care, your baby is placed upright on your bare chest.
• Ask the nurse for a warm blanket to cover you and your baby.
• Strong smells like perfume or cigarette smoke on you or your clothing can bother your baby, so be sure to wash before holding.
• Hold your baby for at least an hour in this position. Be sure to go to the bathroom and put your phone away before getting comfortable. Your baby needs your full attention.

Gentle, still touch is very important, especially for the most sick and fragile of babies. It might make you feel good to stroke your baby, but it doesn’t feel good to your baby in the NICU. Stroking can make a baby feel uneasy or uncomfortable. Touching without moving your hands is best.

Kangaroo care is good for your baby because it can:
• Keep your baby warm
• Stabilize your baby’s heart rate
• Help your baby gain weight
• Comfort your baby

It’s good for Mom and Dad too because:
• It can help you bond with your baby.
• It can stimulate a mother’s ability to make breast milk.
• It can reduce your stress and lift your spirits.
• It may help you become more confident parents.

Kangaroo care is safe and beneficial, even if your baby is connected to machines. Whatever your situation, kangaroo care is a precious way to be close to your baby. You will cherish this time. You can learn more about kangaroo care by looking at our Power Point presentation at this link.

When a baby born early is in the NICU, it’s usually because he needs to be closely monitored in a safe, protected environment so he can continue to develop like he would if he were still inside Mom. This high level of care can’t happen in the cute nursery you have set up at home. That has to wait until later.

Since premature babies cannot regulate their body temperature well, they often are placed in a radiant warmer for a couple of days. This odd-looking open bed may not look like it will do much, but a special sensor taped to the baby’s skin keeps track of his body temperature and adjusts the heat around him as needed. The openness of the bed allows easy access for medical attention during constant monitoring.

Once stabilized, babies usually are transferred to an isolette. This plexiglass box is an incubator that protects the baby from temperature fluctuations in the room. It has portholes on the sides for medical staff to reach through in order to provide different treatments, diaper changes, etc. One wall of the isolette can be unhinged to provide complete access to the baby. As in the radiant warmer, the temperature within the isolette is regulated in accordance with the baby’s temperature needs. Some isolettes also provide moist, humidified air to prevent the baby’s environment from becoming too dry.

Many parents of a baby in the NICU want to decorate their baby’s isolette, make it personal. In time, that will be a great idea, but in the beginning babies often can’t handle any extra stimulation. Very tiny babies may not even be able to handle being touched for the first week or so. It’s hard for parents to see their baby in such a sterile environment. Items such as a special isolette cover, a stuffed animal or family photo can provide a touch of home. By talking with the NICU staff caring for their baby, parents will learn when and how much of a personal touch will be best for their little one.

If you had a baby in the NICU, how long was it before you were able to personalize your baby’s bed?

Chris and Vince Centofanti thought they knew all about preterm birth. She was a neonatal nurse-practitioner caring for critically ill babies, and he worked for GE Healthcare’s Maternal-Infant Care division, providing specialized medical equipment to hospitals. But then their own baby, Nina, was born nine weeks early, weighing less than three pounds.  She suffered from respiratory distress and spent her first five weeks fighting for life in a newborn intensive care unit (NICU).

“I can’t tell you how difficult it was, seeing our own little girl lying in the NICU, fighting for life. All our hopes and dreams for her hung in the balance,” says Chris Centofanti.  “As a nurse-practitioner I’ve seen many other parents in this situation, and now I know exactly how they feel.” “I never expected that my own daughter would have to be cared for in a NICU with the equipment I had provided to the hospital,” says Vince Centofanti.

While pregnant with Nina, Chris felt unwell at 31 weeks and went to the hospital. She was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome, a form of high blood pressure with elevated liver enzymes and a low blood platelet count. It is a rare, but potentially life-threatening illness that typically occurs late in pregnancy. The only treatment is to deliver the baby as soon as possible. For the next 48 hours, Chris was treated with steroids to help develop baby Nina’s lungs before birth. At birth, Nina was immediately transferred to the NICU, where she spent the next five weeks.

In addition to Nina, the Centofantis have an older son Nick, and a second daughter, Mia, who was born at 35 weeks of pregnancy, thanks in part to weekly progesterone treatments which reduced the risk of Chris going into premature labor. “Even though things didn’t go as planned, we’ve been blessed with three healthy children, thanks in large part to the work of the March of Dimes.  Just a few years ago, the outcome might be been very different,” says Chris.  She adds, “Thanks to the care that Nina received, and the support of the March of Dimes for research and treatment, now we also know the relief and joy parents feel when their child survives and becomes healthy enough to leave the NICU and go home.”

Today Nina Centofanti has grown into an active 7-year-old who loves to dance, climb trees and turn handsprings. She has been named the March of Dimes 2013 National Ambassador. As ambassador, Nina and her family will travel the United States visiting public officials and corporate sponsors, and encouraging people to participate in the March of Dimes’ largest fundraiser, March for Babies. The money raised supports community programs that help moms have healthy, full term pregnancies, and funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten babies’ lives.
 
“Serving as the National Ambassador family is a way for us to show our appreciation for our children’s good health, and serve as advocates for lifesaving March of Dimes programs,” says Vince.  “The March of Dimes has provided 75 years of support for research, treatments, educational and prenatal care programs that has saved lives, reduced the suffering, and improved the quality of life for countless children and the parents who love them. My daughter Nina is one of their success stories; a perfect example of what March of Dimes efforts have accomplished.”

Please join us Friday, November 9th, at 2 PM ET for a #preemiechat about micropreemies, babies born at less than 28 weeks and weighing less than 800 grams. Our guest will be Amanda Knickerbocker, @micropreemie, whose daughter spent over 200 days in the NICU.

Meet us on Twitter and share your experiences and challenges. Ask questions. Help other parents currently surviving the NICU rollercoaster with tips on things that really helped you survive those long days, weeks, months. We hope to see you then.

Blessings to all the courageous men and women who rescued delicate premature babies from a failing neonatal ICU during the devastating throws of hurricane Sandy.

In a normal NICU hospital setting, highly trained doctors, nurses, therapists and other professionals monitor a baby’s every breath. These fragile beings are totally dependent on all of us for regulating their breathing, body heat, heart rate, and nutrition and it can be a tricky balancing act in the best of times. Here is a link to just some of the many things related to life in the NICU.    How frightening it must have been for everyone to see the mechanical systems failing. That’s where the trained and compassionate medical personnel really shone.

It took multiple people to transfer the isolettes, oxygen, monitors. They needed to be carried down multiple flights of stairs, into the stormy night to waiting ambulances to carrying them to safety. Some babies were tucked skin-to-skin against a nurses warm body (kangaroo care) to keep them warm. Can you imagine being the parent of one of these fragile babies?

If you or a friend or family member experienced the added anxiety of having a baby in a NICU during last week’s storm, or in the power outages that have followed, please feel free to share your story with us and others. How are you coping? What would you like to hear from others and what suggestions do you have?

Please remember that November is Prematurity Awareness Month and November 17th is World Prematurity Day.   Please join the March of Dimes in our efforts to spread the word about the seriousness of premature birth. And don’t forget to thank the docs and nurses you meet for their amazing and caring work.

One in every 10 babies born in the U.S. is admitted to a newborn intensive care unit (NICU) because of premature birth or another medical condition. Having a baby hospitalized in a NICU, can be frightening, confusing and overwhelming for parents. In conjunction with its national Prematurity Campaign, the March of Dimes has developed NICU Family Support to provide information and comfort to those families in crisis.

Take a look at this video highlighting Rhode Island’s NICU Family Support Program.

To all of you wonderful folks who were out there walking in March for Babies this past weekend, thank you sooooooo much! You are the BEST! We had thousands of fantastic family teams showing up with colorful shirts and inspiring stories.  Celebrities from music, film, television, and sports were lending their star power to bring greater attention to the annual March for Babies events that took place in 900 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Thanks to all you caring and committed volunteers. Your amazing amount of time, energy and support provides hope to babies who are born too soon or sick, and comfort to families with a baby in a newborn intensive care unit. 

We loved reading your tweets and seeing your great photos - keep ‘em coming!  And to all of you who are walking in March for Babies events in the next few weeks, thank you for joining us, send us your pictures and have a fabulously fun day.

One of the most frustrating experiences when you have a baby in the NICU can be the seemingly constant changeover that you go through with your baby’s doctors.  Just when you have trust and confidence in one, a new one comes in to take over.  Suddenly you feel like you are back to square one—this doctor doesn’t know you or your baby and you now need to explain things that you feel he should know.  And with multiple doctors there are always multiple interpretations of medical “facts” that can make having a baby in the NICU even more confusing.  One doctor tells you that a test result indicates there may be a problem, and the next one says the result is within the normal range.  One doctor recommends a treatment, and the next doctor thinks that it is not necessary.  All of this change can just add to the frustration and sense of helplessness that you may already be feeling while your baby is in the NICU.

Why do the neonatologists have to change?  Well, although it seems as though this works against the patient and parents, it actually benefits everyone.  Neonatologists work long hours in a physically and emotionally draining environment.  Working in this intensity for a long time means that after a while a doctor’s energy level, and possibly even judgment, may start to be strained.  To make sure that every doctor maintains a high level of performance, it is important that they take these breaks.  It is best for you and for your baby.

Also, even though they may have differing opinions, a fresh set of eyes looking at your baby can be a big benefit.  Even the best doctors can get set in their way of thinking and a new doctor may be able to see something unique and different in your baby’s situation or try something new that may be of great benefit.

And what happens when you have two doctors who have two different opinions?  It is true that medicine is truly an art and a science.  Two doctors can interpret something in two entirely different ways.  This can be very upsetting for a parent.  It doesn’t mean one of them is wrong and the other is right—they just have different opinions.  If this happens to you, try to view it as an opportunity to understand your baby’s situation a little more.  Don’t hesitate to ask the doctors questions and have them explain why there are different opinions.  And make sure that you tell the doctors about your baby—you are her parents and you know her best.  Getting involved in your baby’s care will help you to develop a stronger partnership with the NICU team—whoever the doctor may be.

Some newborn intensive care units (NICUs) will encourage you to hold your baby from birth onward. Other NICUs will want you to wait until your baby’s health is stable. Ask your NICU staff about its policy on kangaroo care.

Kangaroo care is the practice of holding your diapered baby on your bare chest (if you’re the father) or between your breasts (if you’re the mother), with a blanket draped over your baby’s back. This skin-to-skin contact benefits both you and your baby.

You may be a little nervous about trying kangaroo care. If your baby is very small or sick, you may be afraid you’ll hurt him. But you won’t. Your baby knows your scent, touch and the rhythms of your speech and breathing, and he will enjoy feeling that closeness with you. Kangaroo care can help your baby:
• Maintain his body warmth
• Regulate his heart and breathing rates
• Gain weight
• Spend more time in deep sleep
• Spend more time being quiet and alert and less time crying
• Have a better chance of successful breastfeeding (kangaroo care can improve the mother’s breastmilk production)

Kangaroo care has emotional benefits for you, too. It builds your confidence as you provide intimate care that can improve your baby’s health and well being. You are giving something special to your baby that only you can give. By holding your baby skin-to-skin, you will feel the experience of new parenthood and closeness to your baby. Kangaroo care is healing in many ways, for both you and your baby.

Kangaroo care is safe and beneficial, even if your baby is connected to machines. Whatever your situation, kangaroo care is a precious way to be close to your baby. You will cherish this time.

A recent study published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine is showing that a mother’s voice may help improve the condition of her premature baby.
 
Because they are not fully developed at birth, premature babies have more incidents of lung and heart problems (cardiorespiratory events). Researchers in this study found that these tiny babies were less likely to stop breathing or have their heart rate drop dangerously low when listening to a recording of their mother’s voice and heartbeat.

The study was small, only 14 preterm infants and their mothers were observed, but the results were notable. The babies were played recordings of their mother’s voice and heartbeat four times in 24 hours. The babies had fewer cardiorespiratory events when they heard their mother’s sounds as compared to the normal hospital sounds and noises.

More study needs to be done, but these results show promise by indicating that premature babies show at least short-term improvements in physical stability when listening to their mother’s sounds. Parents can feel so helpless when their baby is in the NICU. This study shows that just talking to your baby, letting her hear that you are there, may make a difference.

Click on this link to read more.