When it comes to the birth of a baby, most moms will agree that things did not go the way that they were expecting.   Maybe the baby was born two weeks early while the father was on a business trip. Or perhaps, the baby decided to enter this world in the front seat of your pick-up truck while on the way to the hospital. Every birth story is unique, and most mothers are more than eager to share every detail of the birth story with anyone who will listen.  Unfortunately, for some parents, their unexpected birth story includes a detour into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). 

According to Dartmouth Institute for Health, approximately 78 infants out of 1,000 are admitted into the NICU (JAMA, 2015).  Some NICU’s have the capability to admit babies 23 weeks gestation and above. Those babies are considered micro-preemies and are usually quite ill. They will require intensive care by a multi-disciplinary team of NICU nurses, Neonatologist, Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, Nutritionists, Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists.  Thankfully, most babies admitted into the NICU are not micro-preemies. In fact, babies are admitted into the NICU for a variety of reasons, including; respiratory distress, blood sugar instability, infection, feeding problems, and low birth weight.  Whatever the reason, an admission into the NICU can be a scary time for the parents…