What Is A NICU?

A NICU is a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This is where lives are literally saved, some by the hour. Your newborn baby is the most precious thing in your life, something you can say you created and nurtured for nine months.

What if there is an unexpected health issue, or you deliver your little one too early? Thankfully, there are some of the most accredited nurses and physicians in the industry providing care in these units, putting your son or daughter 's life first.

The NICU can be a very confusing place, even intimidating at first glance. There are very specific rules to entering and exiting the area and who can visit the babies inside. If you have older children, you may need special permission to have them visit the baby. Inside you will find incubators, jaundice lights, and heart monitors all the tools the care givers will need to care properly for your child.

In the United States, there are three levels of care inside a NICU:

Level I: This is a basic care room inside a hospital that offers labor and delivery suites. Most city hospitals will have these and some located in suburbs as well, they are not that advanced and if your baby has a lot of concerns medically, odds are they will be transferred to a higher level NICU in your town. This Level I facility provides postnatal care for infants, ones that are at term or just under it with the capacity to care for infants from 35 weeks gestational age and up.

Level II:

This facility bodes two variations, a 2A and 2B-

2A: They offer care to infants born from 32 weeks gestational age and above. Infants can weigh 1500g and can be treated for such ailments as jaundice, apnea, temperature, and learn how to properly feed via mouth versus the tube.

2B: This variation can do exactly as aforementioned in the 2A facility and also care for ventilation systems, for those infants that have premature lung development which is extremely common in babies less than 36 weeks old.

Level III:

This is the Mother of all NICU facilities, where miracles literally occur inside. If you have a baby at 28 weeks gestational age and up they can aide them to excellent health. Many moms assume if they have a baby too early such as 30 weeks, their baby will not survive and thanks to the Level III facilities, millions of babies are saved each and everyday. They can care for babies that weigh 1000g, ones that need ventilation, minor surgical practices, life support, catheters, feeding tubes, PIC lines, and so on.

There are far less Level III NICU institutions around the world than there are the lower scale ones due to the tremendous amount of care they have the ability to provide their patients. In 1999 alone, there were a reported 830 NICU's in the US alone, creating a lot of hope for new parents of a preemie to get the help and intensive care they may need for their baby.

What Is Neonatal Jaundice?

Some babies simply have it easier than others. When an infant is born prematurely they will have to survive through many obstacles until they can go home from the hospital. There are some severe ailments preemies can suffer from such as sleep apnea, intravenous feeding and digestive disorders alike. One very common issue for early babies is something called neonatal jaundice.

Neonatal jaundice is a condition that results in the skin turning a yellow shade. Doctors can test for this with a process that blanches the skin with a form of digital pressure, from there it shows the skin tissue underneath and they can derive their results from there. If the level is 85umol or higher they will require treatment. They can have a yellowing of the skin, especially in the face and chest areas. Some full term babies can also have jaundice of some form. It is treatable and effects over half of all babies born. Most can be treated and the condition can disappear within the first week of life, a few weeks for those infants that are born severely premature.

The most common form of treatment for this ailment is via phototherapy. This is the practice of using lights to change the bilirubin so that their smaller bodies can eliminate it. This is generally is completed within the hospital, but in some cases the baby can go home with a device that will treat it. Those devices are usually a wrap, blanket, or band.

These devices are to be worn by the baby for a dew hours during the day and a home nurse generally comes to check on the baby and their equipment. They take a blood sample when they come to check on the baby to report their accurate level of jaundice they are experiencing. Do not worry, this does not hurt the new baby it is taken from their feet and only a small amount is drawn. This will continue for as long as the baby needs treated. Be sure to become well informed regarding the equipment that your child will be using while they are at home. If your baby will be using a lighted instrument, they usually need to wear some form of goggles or glasses while the machine is in use. This does not bother them, and you have to remember that it is all temporary.

Do follow all of the pediatricians directions when caring for a newborn with a jaundice. It is imperative that they cure this ailment as soon as possible as other complications can develop. Some children have such a severe case of jaundice that they need to be admitted into a Children's hospital where they can undergo a blood transfusion. Do not be overly concerned, many babies have this condition and they are fine within a week to one month of treatment.