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Extra Help When Your Baby Needs It

All babies need care, but there are times when some may need a little more than others.For those newborns, Plantation General Hospital offers an NICU that is not onlycommitted to providing the best care possible for babies but also to making a trying timea little easier for parents.Delivering more than 4,000 babies each year, Plantation General Hospital houses one of the busiest NICUs in the country. The 31-bed NICU offers a Level III unit for newbornswho need critical care and a Level II progressive care unit for babies who are morestable. In the Level II unit, parents receive help with discharge planning, as well aseducation designed to help them care for their newborn.For Perri and Neil Trenk whose daughter Alexa received care in the NICU, PlantationGeneral's up-to-date technology and capable staff were invaluable. "Alexa was bornwhen I was only 23 weeks pregnant, and she was given a 20 percent chance to make it,"says Trenk. "Today, she is in kindergarten, and the quality of her life is as normal as itcould be. I'm so thankful she was born at Plantation General--they did a wonderful job."

The Best Care for Baby

Newborns are in good hands at Plantation General's NICU. Five board-certified andattending-level neonatologists are on staff full time. As an added bonus, a neonatologist ison-site 24 hours a day, so parents have the assurance a specialist is always available to provide extra care for their newborn.In addition to the expertise of the neonatologists, the NICU at Plantation Generalemploys a top-notch nursing staff. All the nurses in the NICU have been trained inneonatal intensive care, and they keep up-to-date on the latest advances by attendingseminars throughout the year. In addition to being knowledgeable, the nursing staff isalso experienced."One of the strengths of our NICU is its stability," says Barry Chandler, M.D.,neonatologist and medical director of the NICU at Plantation General. "We've had thesame nursing staff for many years. Because of this stability, we've built an excellentrelationship with one another and function as a truly integrated team. Parents see this, andthey know we are providing their babies with unified care. In a stressful environment, thishas a calming effect on parents."This integrated care can be seen every Monday in the NICU during group rounds."During these rounds, an interdisciplinary team consisting of a case manager, nurse practitioner, neonatologist, respiratory therapist, nurse and lactation consultant visits eachand every newborn's bedside to discuss the baby's care," explains Donna Nicorgski,director of Plantation General Hospital's NICU. "All the disciplines are involved andoffer their input. This type of communication has improved the quality of care for our infants."

Family-Centered Care

When a newborn needs extra care, the staff at Plantation General's NICU knows that it'snot only the baby who is affected. While providing the highest quality care for thenewborn, the NICU staff also seeks to meet the needs of the family in a variety of ways.

Lean on Us

The days, weeks, or months a newborn spends in NICU can be a trying time for parents.To help ease parents' concerns, the NICU offers a monthly Parent Support Group."Parents who had premature babies are invited to come back and talk with parents of babies who are currently in the NICU," explains Nicgorski. "This gives parents firsthandexperience with people who understand what they are going through."This level of communication goes a long way to ease parents' concerns, and it isn't justconfined to support group meetings. Families speak with a nurse practitioner every day,and a doctor is always available when the family has questions or concerns.The nursing staff at Plantation General works to assure families they aren't isolated fromtheir newborn just because the baby is in NICU. "Because parents want to be in the NICUwhen it's convenient for them, we offer open visitation. Parents can visit any time, nightor day," says Nicorgski. "The only time the NICU is not open is during a shift change or in an emergency."Open visitation gives parents the opportunity to interact with their newborn and learnhow to care for their baby. When babies are more stable, this interaction may take theform of Kangaroo Care."Studies have shown that skin-to-skin contact helps babies grow, stabilizes their temperatures, and provides important bonding time with parents," explains Nicorgski.Aptly named after the kangaroo's practice of carrying its newborn close to its body in a pouch, Kangaroo Care at Plantation General offers parents the opportunity to sit in a private area and hold their newborn next to their bare skin.

Breastfeeding Options

A baby in the NICU may not be able to breastfeed immediately. To assure that babiesstart with mothers' milk, women who plan to breastfeed can store their pumped breastmilk and colostrum in an on-site freezer until it's needed.Plantation General also has a lactation center. To assure that moms who haven't been ableto breastfeed immediately are successful, lactation consultants are available to work withnew moms one-on-one. Lactation consultants offer "Breastfeeding Your Baby" classes before delivery, and upon request, they meet with new moms after delivery.

CPR Classes

The staff at Plantation General's NICU wants parents to feel confident caring for their baby at home. To increase parent's confidence, Plantation General holds infant CPR classes once a week for families with babies in the NICU. "A large number of the babiesin our unit were born premature," says Nicorgski. "These classes, led by nurses certifiedin teaching CPR, help parents feel more comfortable when they take their baby home."

More Than A Day's Work

"Working in the NICU has been very rewarding," says Dr. Chandler. "In 1986, for example, we cared for the smallest, surviving premature baby --she was only 21 weeksgestation. Now she's 14 years old." Nicorgski agrees that the rewards of the job are many. "All the nurses in the unit lovetheir work, and it shows in how they care for the babies," she says. "It's extremelysatisfying to work with these babies so they can go home with their parents. It'sespecially rewarding when parents come back with their children to visit us."

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The birth of a baby is a wonderful yet very complex process. Many physical and emotionalchanges occur for mother and baby.A baby must make many physical adjustments to life outside the mother's body. Leaving theuterus means that a baby can no longer depend on the mother's circulation and placenta for important physiologic functions. Before birth, breathing, eating, elimination of waste, andimmunologic protection all came from the mother. When a baby enters the world, many bodysystems change dramatically from the way they functioned during fetal life:* The lungs must breathe air.* The cardiac and pulmonary circulation changes.* The digestive system must begin to process food and excrete waste.* The kidneys must begin working to balance fluids and chemicals in the body and excretewaste.* The liver and immunologic systems must begin functioning independently.

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Your baby's body systems must work together in a new way. Sometimes, a baby has difficultymaking the transition to the world. Being born prematurely, having a difficult delivery, or birthdefects can make these changes more challenging. Fortunately for these babies, specialnewborn care is available.What is the neonatal intensive care unit?ImageNewborn babies who need intensive medical attention are often admitted into a special area of the hospital called the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU combines advancedtechnology and trained healthcare professionals to provide specialized care for the tiniestpatients. NICUs may also have intermediate or continuing care areas for babies who are not assick but do need specialized nursing care. Some hospitals do not have the personnel or a NICU