Intensive Care Nursery

Additional services:

• Lactation consultants
  
  
• Developmental follow-up
  
  
• Cuddler Program
  
  
• Kangaroo Care
  
  
• A toll-free number for our families out of state:
  1-888-244-4260

"The staff recognizes the need for parents to be involved in their baby's care and tries to provide the means for this whenever possible. They are available to answer parents' questions and give advice on the types of behavior to be expected from the baby and to share suggestions for encouraging the baby's development."

A Safe, Secure Environment for Premature Babies

Nursery designed to handle medical and developmental needs

The sophisticated medical interventions that keep babies in an intensive care nursery alive and help them heal can also be detrimental to their normal development.

The challenge is to merge high-tech treatment with the developmental nurturing these babies need. Because of their premature birth or medical condition, they sometimes face a higher risk of developmental delays and problems as they grow older. Our goal is to make the experience in the intensive care nursery as supporting and sensitive to the child's developmental needs as we can.

Physicians and nursing staff in Allegheny General's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICN) employ care techniques that are appropriate to the baby's age and developmental stage. The guidelines they use in caring for their tiny patients — developed by the physicians and Diane Shaffer, M.Ed., pediatric developmental specialist — have been presented at national conferences and made available for other hospitals to use as a model.

Infants who weigh only 1 to 2 pounds, are on ventilators or are critically ill are protected from excessive stimulation. Blankets are draped over their isolettes to block the light, and a sound sensor warns nurses if the noise level in the nursery is too high. When a nurse has to handle the baby, she does it very slowly and cautiously, with breaks if the medical procedure is lengthy. These babies are also "nested" in sheepskin and extra bedding.

This mimics the womb, so they feel secure, contained, soothed. Many of these babies are three to four months premature, so they are still growing and developing in our isolettes as they would have in the womb.

Once the infant is not so tiny and sick (usually a few weeks before the original due date), he gets more exposure to the world, including his parents. Parents are encouraged to hold the baby as much as possible, put toys and other items in the isolette for visual stimulation and record themselves reading books so the nurses can play the tape for the baby when the parents aren't there.

Some babies spend six to nine months after their due dates in the nursery. For them, the nurses attempt to mimic the kind of day they would experience at home. These babies are on a regular schedule, with set times to eat, nap and play.

As the baby gets well, parental involvement in his care increases. The nursing staff educates the parents on their child's special needs and makes sure that they are prepared to take over the care responsibilities once the baby is home. Parents are encouraged to feed, bathe, and dress their children, and a special room is available in which the parents and baby can stay together for a night or two before discharge to get used to each other.

Until they enter school, children who were in the ICN receive follow-up screenings at a special clinic operated by the physicians and Ms. Shaffer.

"We determine if they are making appropriate progress for their age or if they have any disabilities or special needs that we can help with," Ms. Shaffer said. "The purpose of the clinic is to provide continuing coordinated care for these children, and reassure their parents when their children are doing well."