{"id":30403,"date":"2023-12-28T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T07:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=30403"},"modified":"2025-04-17T21:31:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T21:31:21","slug":"supporting-a-nicu-consistency-is-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/supporting-a-nicu-consistency-is-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting a NICU family: Consistency is key","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

A stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a stressful and emotional period.<\/p>\n

The experience is different for every family \u2014 and how long your baby stays in the NICU depends on when they were born and what health conditions they\u2019re facing, says Tamara Chao, MD<\/a>, lead physician at MultiCare Regional Maternal Fetal Medicine \u2013 Tacoma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Knowing that it could be a long stay, parents should think of it as a marathon, not a sprint, says Katy Miller, BSN, RNC-NIC, clinical assistant nurse manager in the MultiCare Deaconess Hospital NICU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re spending so much time at our facilities \u2026 It can be weeks to months, and that\u2019s a long time,\u201d Miller says. \u201cI always try to remind parents that we know this isn\u2019t part of [their] birth plan \u2026 so we try to make it as comfortable and safe as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not \u201cnormal,\u201d though, she recognizes.<\/p>\n

With everyone\u2019s focus on caring for the newborn and postpartum mother, it\u2019s easy for things like meals or other responsibilities to slip through the cracks. That\u2019s where families and friends can make a difference.<\/p>\n

What you can do to help<\/h2>\n

\u201cYour focus should be about providing support for everyday life outside of the NICU,\u201d Miller says.<\/p>\n

Most parents spend the day in the NICU, go home for a while, and then come back for evening feeding and bedtime, she explains. That could make for 12-hour days on top of travel to and from home or work.<\/p>\n

For families who don\u2019t live close to a NICU, Dr. Chao says the stress and financial burden of travel and lodging quickly add up.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a friend or family member who lives close to the facility, one of the biggest things you could do is open your home for the parents as a place to sleep and relax, she says. This is especially important for discharged mothers, as part of the emotional and physical healing process is having a place to stay close to baby.<\/p>\n

Other ways to support a NICU family:<\/p>\n