Tuesday January 24, 2012
When your baby is in the NICU, pumping breastmilk is one of the most important things you can do to help your baby to grow and thrive. Some moms have an abundant milk supply right from the start, but other moms struggle to pump enough milk for their growing baby. If you're having trouble pumping, try not to get discouraged. Taking extra care of yourself by resting well and drinking enough fluids, combined with having the right equipment and the right technique, can hep you to increase your milk supply.
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Thursday January 19, 2012
Apnea of prematurity is a common compication of premature birth. In apena of prematurity, babies stop breathing for a brief period of time - they seem to just forget to breathe. During an apneic spell, the heart rate and oxygen level may fall. The baby will usually begin to breathe again without help, but might need a nudge or a few rescue breaths to start breathing again.
Premature babies are often given doses of caffeine to treat apnea of prematurity. Although caffeine has been used in NICUs since the 1970s, few long term studies have been done to validate its safety. This month, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released results of a 5-year follow up study on the safety of caffeine. At 18 months, the children in the study who had been treated with caffeine had lower rates of cerebral palsy and cognitive delay. By 5 years of age that benefit had disappeared, and children who were and were not treated with caffeine had similar rates of disability.
Happily, the study showed that even after 5 years, there are no negative long-term behavioral or cognitive side effects from caffeine.
Read More: What is Apnea of Prematurity
Saturday January 14, 2012
If you're crafty and your New Year's resolutions included being more charitable, then knitting or crocheting hats and blankets for your local NICU might be a wonderful way to make a new family's day brighter. Check with a NICU near you to see what their needs are. In my NICU, we always love getting hats (especially in the 4 pound baby range) and quilts or blankets. We try to donate a quilt or blanket to every family, to decorate baby's incubator and to commemorate how far they've come, and baby hats help little babies stay warm during the transition from incubator to open crib.
Interested? Please check out the free knitting patterns and free crochet patterns below to help you get started making hats and blankets!
Tuesday January 10, 2012
When I admit a new baby into the NICU, one of the first questions that parents ask is usually "how long will my baby be in the NICU?" It's only natural - babies belong at home with their families. Our goal is always to help a baby who is born early or sick to grow stronger and get well as quickly as is safely possible.
Although there are milestones a NICU baby must reach before going home, each baby meets these milestones at a different time. Reading parents' stories of how long their babies were in the NICU can help other families to understand when they can expect to bring their babies home and what hurdles their babies must overcome. With over 100 stories from different parents, you're sure to find several that are similar to your situation.
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