Which statement by new mother observing her preterm infant in neonatal intensive care nursery indicates that she has not yet?

Diagnosis

After your premature baby is moved to the NICU, he or she may undergo a number of tests. Some are ongoing, while others may be performed only if the NICU staff suspects a particular complication.

Possible tests for your premature baby may include:

• Breathing and heart rate monitor. Your baby's breathing and heart rate are monitored on a continuous basis. Blood pressure readings are done frequently, too.
• Fluid input and output. The NICU team carefully tracks how much fluid your baby takes in through feedings and intravenous fluids and how much fluid your baby loses through wet or soiled diapers.

• Blood tests. Blood samples are collected through a heel stick or a needle inserted into a vein to monitor a number of critical substances, including calcium, glucose and bilirubin levels in your baby's blood. A blood sample may also be analyzed to measure the red blood cell count and check for anemia or assess for an infection.

  If your baby's doctor anticipates that several blood samples will be needed, the NICU staff may insert a central umbilical intravenous (IV) line, to avoid having to stick your baby with a needle each time blood is needed.

• Echocardiogram. This test is an ultrasound of the heart to check for problems with your baby's heart function. Much like a fetal ultrasound, an echocardiogram uses sound waves to produce moving images on a display monitor.
• Ultrasound scan. Ultrasound scans may be done to check the brain for bleeding or fluid buildup or to examine the abdominal organs for problems in the gastrointestinal tract, liver or kidneys.
• Eye exam. An ophthalmologist (eye doctor) may examine your baby's eyes and vision to check for problems with the retina (retinopathy of prematurity).

If your baby develops any complications, other specialized testing may be needed.

Treatment

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or special care nursery provides round-the-clock care for your premature baby.

Supportive care

Specialized supportive care for your baby may include:

• Being placed in an incubator. Your baby will probably stay in an enclosed plastic bassinet (incubator) that's kept warm to help your baby maintain normal body temperature. Later on, NICU staff may show you a particular way to hold your baby — known as "kangaroo" care — with direct skin-to-skin contact.
• Monitoring of your baby's vital signs. Sensors may be taped to your baby's body to monitor blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and temperature. A ventilator may be used to help your baby breathe.
• Having a feeding tube. At first your baby may receive fluids and nutrients through an intravenous (IV) tube. Breast milk may be given later through a tube passed through your baby's nose and into his or her stomach (nasogastric, or NG, tube). When your baby is strong enough to suck, breast-feeding or bottle-feeding is often possible.
• Replenishing fluids. Your baby needs a certain amount of fluids each day, depending upon his or her age and medical conditions. The NICU team will closely monitor fluids, sodium and potassium levels to make sure that your baby's fluid levels stay on target. If fluids are needed, they'll be delivered through an IV line.
• Spending time under bilirubin lights. To treat infant jaundice, your baby may be placed under a set of lights — known as bilirubin lights — for a period of time. The lights help your baby's system break down excess bilirubin, which builds up because the liver can't process it all. While under the bilirubin lights, your baby will wear a protective eye mask to rest more comfortably.
• Receiving a blood transfusion. Your preterm baby may need a blood transfusion to raise blood volume — especially if your baby has had several blood samples drawn for various tests.

Medications

Medications may be given to your baby to promote maturing and to stimulate normal functioning of the lungs, heart and circulation. Depending on your baby's condition, medication may include:

• Surfactant, a medication used to treat respiratory distress syndrome
• Fine-mist (aerosolized) or IV medication to strengthen breathing and heart rate
• Antibiotics if infection is present or if there's a risk of possible infection
• Medicines that increase urine output (diuretics) to manage excess fluid
• An injection of medication into the eye to stop the growth of new blood vessels that could cause retinopathy of prematurity
• Medicine that helps close the heart defect known as patent ductus arteriosus

Surgery

Sometimes surgery is necessary to treat a number of conditions associated with prematurity. Talk with your baby's health care team to understand which complications may require surgery, and learn about the type of surgery that might be necessary to treat them.

Taking your baby home

Your baby is ready to go home when he or she:

• Can breathe without support
• Can maintain a stable body temperature
• Can breast- or bottle-feed
• Is gaining weight steadily
• Is free of infection

In some cases, a child may be allowed to go home before meeting one of these requirements — as long as the baby's medical team and family create and agree on a plan for home care and monitoring.

Your baby's health care team will help you learn how to care for your baby at home. Before dismissal from the hospital, your baby's nurse or a hospital discharge planner may ask you about:

• Living arrangements
• Other children in the household
• Adult relatives and friends who may assist you in caring for your baby
• Primary pediatric care

Clinical trials

Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.

Lifestyle and home remedies

When it's time to bring your baby home, you might feel relieved, excited — and anxious. Take time to consider ways to prepare for life at home with your baby after you've left the hospital:

• Understand how to care for your baby. Before you leave the hospital, take a course in infant CPR. Ask your baby's medical team any questions you might have and take notes.

  Make sure you're comfortable caring for your baby, especially if you'll need to administer medications, use special monitors, or give your baby supplemental oxygen or other treatments. Discuss symptoms — such as infant breathing or feeding problems — that might necessitate a call to your baby's care provider.

• Discuss feedings. Ask the medical team about your baby's need for supplementation in the form of breast milk fortifiers or preterm infant formula. Keep in mind that premature babies usually eat less and may need to be fed more often than full-term babies. Find out how much and how often your baby should be eating.

• Protect your baby's health. Premature babies are more susceptible to serious infections than are other newborns. Try to minimize your baby's exposure to crowded places, and make sure everyone who comes into contact with your baby washes his or her hands first. Ask people who are ill to postpone their visit until they are well.

  Because premature babies are especially at risk of a serious infection of the lungs and respiratory tract (respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV), your baby's doctor might recommend a preventive medication called palivizumab (Synagis), which helps protect your baby from this serious infection.

• Follow a recommended schedule for checkups. Discuss your baby's need for future appointments with your baby's care provider and any specialists. Your preterm baby may initially need to see his or her care provider every week or two to have his or her growth, medical needs and care monitored.

• Stay on top of vaccinations. While it's recommended that immunizations be given to medically stable premature babies according to their chronological age, delays in the immunization schedule are common. Work with your baby's care provider to stay on top of your baby's vaccinations.

  You may also protect your preterm infant by ensuring that others in the home are up to date on their immunizations, including influenza. Pregnant women, family members and adult caregivers should also check with their doctors to be sure they're up to date on their whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine.

• Monitor for developmental delays. Your baby's care provider may also monitor your baby for developmental delays and disabilities in the coming months. Babies who are identified as at risk may receive further evaluation and be referred to early intervention services. Eligibility for such programs varies by state.

Coping and support

Caring for a premature baby can be physically and emotionally exhausting. You may be anxious about your baby's health and the long-term effects of premature birth. You may feel angry, guilty or overwhelmed.

Some of these suggestions may help during this difficult time:

• Learn everything you can about your baby's condition. In addition to talking to your baby's doctor and other care providers, ask for informational pamphlets and recommendations for good books and reliable websites for more information about taking care of your preterm baby.
• Take care of yourself. Get as much rest as you can and eat healthy foods. You'll feel stronger and better able to care for your baby.
• Establish your milk supply. Use a breast pump until your baby is able to breast-feed. Ask the hospital staff for help — they can show you how to use a breast pump and find the supplies you'll need to store milk.
• Accept help from others. Allow friends and family to help you. They can care for your other children, prepare food, clean the house or run errands. This helps you save your energy for your baby.
• Keep a journal. Record the details of your baby's progress as well as your own thoughts and feelings. You may want to include pictures of your baby so that you can see how much he or she changes from week to week.
• Seek good listeners for support. Talk to your partner or spouse, friends, family, or your baby's caregivers. The NICU social worker often can be very helpful. If you're interested, your baby's caregivers may be able to suggest a support group in your area. Many parents find it particularly helpful to talk to other parents who are caring for a preterm infant.

Caring for a baby is a great challenge. Take it one day at a time. Despite the worries and setbacks, celebrate the surprising resilience and strength of your preemie, and cherish the time you can spend getting to know your son or daughter.

Preparing for your appointment

As the parent of a premature baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), you'll interact, on an ongoing basis, with many care providers for your baby. Members of the NICU team caring for your infant may include:

• Neonatal nurse — A registered nurse who has special training in caring for premature and high-risk newborns
• Neonatal nurse practitioner — An experienced neonatal nurse who has completed additional training to assist neonatologists in caring for newborns
• Pediatrician — A doctor who specializes in treating children from birth through adolescence
• Neonatologist — A pediatrician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of newborn health problems
• Pediatric resident — A doctor who is receiving specialized training in treating children
• Respiratory therapist — A respiratory care practitioner who assesses respiratory problems in newborns and manages respiratory equipment
• Pediatric surgeon — A surgeon who specializes in performing surgery for newborns and children
• Pediatric social worker — A professional able to assist in finding various services that might be useful during and after your baby's hospital stay.

Besides these health professionals, you also are an important part of the care provided for your baby. Ideally, you'll work in collaboration with your baby's care providers, eventually learning how to hold, feed and care for your baby.

What you can do

Uncertainty can be frightening — as can seeing monitors and other types of equipment in the NICU. Ask questions about your baby's condition or write them down and seek answers when you're ready. For instance, you may want to ask:

• How is my baby's condition? Has anything changed?
• How does this equipment help my baby?
• Why are you giving my baby medication?
• What types of tests does my baby need?
• When can I hold my baby? Will you show me how?
• How long will my baby have to continue tube feedings?
• When can I try to breast- or bottle-feed my baby?
• When will my baby be able to focus his or her eyes?
• Who should I contact if I have questions about my baby's care?
• Can I bring in a blanket or family photos to personalize my baby's incubator?
• What can I do to help care for my baby while he or she is in the NICU?
• When will my baby be able to come home?
• What do I need to know about caring for my baby once we're home?
• How often do we need to come back for follow-up visits after discharge?

During your baby's time in the NICU, don't hesitate to ask the NICU staff how you can become more involved in your baby's care. Being hands-on with your baby can give you confidence as a new parent, as well as make the transition home a little easier.