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.

How To Safely Raise A Low Birth Weight Of A Newborn

Perhaps you like millions of other families have a newborn in your life that was born prematurely or simply a tad on the small side. This may not be any concern of the pediatricians, but you may want the baby to gain a little bit of weight to feel more comfortable with them health wise. This is completely normal and it can be done so do not worry that your baby will be tiny forever!

Firstly, ensure that your doctor does not have he or she on any diet restrictions. If they are on a special type of formula or other diet supplements. If they have a free clearance to have formula or breast milk, then you are good to proceed. You can use baby cereal if your doctor permits it. Some preemies have to have this from as early as two weeks old to help their bodies digest the foods. Many smaller babies also suffer from acid reflux disorder which can account for many ailments. If the baby has trouble sleeping, feeding or throws up after eating, you may need this taken a look at. They can suffer from lesions in the esophagus that can be permanent if not treated correctly. You doctor will help put the newborn on a special feeding schedule if that is the case and you should always prop the baby's head up higher than the rest of their little bodies to help aide their digestion going down smoother.

Baby cereal comes in all types of flavors. It can be in oatmeal or rice typically, and they do have various organic versions on the market today also. You simply take a teaspoon full and mix it into the baby's bottle at feeding times. It is the smallest amount of cereal that can make a world of difference in helping your newborn gain weight quickly. They can increase this amount if they begin to require larger liquid meals as they grow. Use common sense, if you put too much baby cereal flakes in the bottle the baby will not be able to get the liquid out of the bottle. It instantly creates a thicker consistency of liquid that makes it trying for a newborn to get out of the holes in the nipples of the bottle lid. Just a teaspoon for now should begin to do the trick. Many parents use this technique to get the baby to sleep all night long as well. When a newborn has a full tummy they will sleep longer, the cereal can provide that which is an added bonus!

Once the baby progresses along and they are a few months old, you can begin using baby food to help them with their weight plan. Introducing peaches, bananas and pears to the baby with a small amount of baby cereal in it can continue to help the preemie get back into a more average weight and height for their age.