Dr. Jess Daigle, NICU specialist, shares her story of having a a baby in the NICU as well as her professional experience as a physician who cares for preterm babies.
Premature infant (premie): babies born more than 3 weeks earlier than their expected due date (i.e. earlier than 37 weeks).
24 weeks | Fetal viability: the point where a baby can survive outside the womb with medical support.
32 weeks | Fetal brain development: the point where your baby no longer needs medication for cognitive support.
34 weeks | Lung development: the point where your baby may or may not need steroids for assistance with lung maturation.
Steroids (Betamethasone): is a steroid that can help speed up lung development in preterm babies.
NICU: the intensive care unit of babies who are sick or born early. Hospitals have different NICU levels that they offer:
Level 1 NICU | Basic care - provide care for healthy full-term babies.
Level 2 NICU| Advanced care - offer care for babies born at or after 32 weeks.
Level 3 NICU| Specialized care - care for very sick babies and offer access to a wide range of pediatric specialists and equipment.
Level 4 NICU| Highest level of care - provides a full range of healthcare providers and equipment for very sick babies.
Neonatologist: a pediatrician who specializes in premature babies or newborns with high-risk or complex health conditions.
Pulmonary surfactant: low levels are noted to cause neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS), a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in premature infants.
Progesterone: a hormone produced by the body that plays a role in pregnancy maintenance.
Cervical insufficiency: Inability of the cervix to retain a pregnancy in the absence of signs and symptoms of clinical contractions, labor, or both in the second trimester
LEEP: is a treatment to remove precancerous cells from the cervix. Can be performed in the clinic.
Cold Knife Cone: Similar procedure as a LEEP where more tissue is taken. Performed in the operating room.
Cerclage: a treatment that involves temporarily sewing the cervix closed with stitches. This may help prevent preterm birth.
Jaundice: is an immature liver, which is common in preterm babies.
Aspiration: breathing in a foreign object (for example, sucking food into the airway).
Social worker: helps individuals, groups, and families prevent and cope with problems in their everyday lives.
Tracheal tube (trach): tube placed in the windpipe to help with breathing.
Ventilator machine (vent): mechanical ventilators are machines that act as bellows to move air in and out of your lungs.
Feeding tube: delivers a liquid nutrition formula directly into your digestive system.
Speech therapy: The goals of speech therapy include improving pronunciation, strengthening the muscles used in speech, and learning to speak correctly.
PSI (Postpartum Support International): An organization that aims to raise awareness about the emotional changes that women experience during and postpartum by educating and training the community https://www.postpartum.net/about-psi/
Early Childhood Intervention: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html
