One of the most common questions parents ask when a baby or babies are in the NICU
is when that NICU stay will end. Instead of just blindly asking, "When
will my baby come home?" it is better to arm yourself with knowledge
about common NICU milestones.
While each hospital is different, most
Neonatal Intensive Care Units have the same core NICU milestones that
must be met before a baby is sent home.
It is more empowering for parents to ask about the milestones in the NICU,
make sure you understand precisely what they are, and ask about
progress of those NICU milestones regarding your baby.
Also be sure you
know where your baby stands on all points. For example, it can be
reassuring even if you see lots of tubes and wires attached to your
baby to know that, at the very least, they are gaining weight well.
While each NICU is different, these are the common milestones NICU
babies must reach.
Your baby must be stable
This will be a major NICU milestone. If your baby still needs NICU
intervention like breathing tubes, your baby will need to stay until he
or she can do everything unassisted. Your baby will also need to have
good readings for pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure. There are
some instances in which interventions can be done at home, so do ask
about that to know your options.
Your baby needs to gain weight
Hospitals differ on just how much weight, and some have a minimum
weight standard even if your baby has doubled weight. For example, all
babies might be required to hit five pounds before being released from
the NICU. Since babies always lose weight right after birth, the NICU
milestone will probably involve regaining some or all of that to get to
or beyond the birth weight.
Your baby needs to feed well
Your baby will need to be feeding on its own, by bottle or breast
and not by feeding tube. Many NICUs set a standard, such as a minimum
of x number of ounces every x hours. This can be especially frustrating
is you're breastfeeding in the NICU?,
as they like to see the number of ounces. Don't let them pressure you
out of breastfeeding by saying they need to better monitor the food
intake for this NICU milestone. You can give them expressed breastmilk
for bottle feeding for the feedings when you aren't there.
Your baby needs to maintain body temperature
Often times, babies are put under heat or kept in an enclosed
isolette, a special bassinet, to keep the body temperature at a certain
level. You want to watch for your baby going into an open bassinet and
for the nurses to remove any heat supplemented, and see where your
baby's body temperature is. A baby must be maintaining a proper
temperature on its own to be released from the NICU.
With a complete agreement with Kelby's view on the NICU issues I share my experience. It is very natural of moms to jump to the point that "when is my baby getting out of the NICU and going home".
August 3rd (just about 5 months ago) I had a little baby boy, who ended up in NICU for his body not being able to maintain sugar level.
Yes my heart was pounding like never before but I thought for a second and acknowledged the I needed to be very patient about things since I wanted my baby to get as much of care that he needed to be stable. I couldn't have imagined this sort problem occuring at home and not knowing what to do then bringing the baby back to the hospital.
Therefore, instead of starting the abc's all over again I strongly agree and encourage all the moms or moms-to-be to be very patient and let your baby be taken care by the professionals until they maintain their stability, Weight, better feeding intake and more importantly maintining body temperature.
Your baby will eventually come home with a better care and complete care.
