Understanding the NICU: What Parents of Preemies and Other Hospitalized Newborns Need to Know

Most parents do not expect to begin life with their new baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). They often feel lost and powerless amidst this new world of medical vocabulary, technology, and numerous health care providers.

Understanding the NICU will guide you through your NICU journey, help you communicate with members of the NICU team, and learn about your baby’s condition so that you can ask questions and participate as a valuable partner in your baby’s care. It will also provide important information about how to care for your baby after you leave the hospital and head home with your little one.

Included in the book are inspirational stories from parents who have had their own NICU experiences, bringing hope and comfort to other parents with an infant who is hospitalized.

Understanding the NICU provides you with everything you need to know about
• Common NICU equipment and tests
• Common medical problems for babies in the NICU
• Special health issues for premature infants
• Who's who in the NICU and how to work with the team
• Mother-baby factors: effects on newborn health
• Feeding your baby
• Parenting in the NICU
• Birth defects and surgery
• Heading home from the NICU
• Home at last
• Caring for your baby in the first year

Intensive care is stressful by nature and overwhelming at times. Reading this book and learning about what happens in the NICU will help you gain confidence and feel more reassured about your baby’s care in the NICU -- and at home.

Jeanette Zaichkin, RN, MN, NNP-BC, has been a neonatal nurse for more than 30 years. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, and received her master's degree from the University of Washington. Jeanette has worked as a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, manager, and neonatal outreach coordinator in a variety of settings, including community hospitals and major medical centers. She has numerous publications and has served as a consultant and editor for the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program since 1998. Jeanette leads Positive Pressure, her business enterprise that provides consultation and program development for neonatal resuscitation, simulation and debriefing, and instructor development.

Gary Weiner, MD, FAAP, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Fellowship Training Program in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Dr. Weiner is the editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation, 7th edition.

David Loren, MD, FAAP, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and the Associate Medical Director of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Dr Loren leads the safety and quality initiatives in the University of Washington NICU and also attends at the Seattle Children’s Newborn ICU as well as community Newborn ICUs throughout the broader Seattle region.