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Family-oriented Care
Supporting Families With Premature Babies
By Teri Brown
Dr. Robert Spahr, a neonatologist for the Janet Weis Children's Hospital at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., believes that having a baby in the NICU is a huge emotional challenge for parents. "The long stays for some of the premature babies can last over three months, with many unpredictable ups and downs," he says. "Balancing the demands of visiting the NICU with the needs of other children at home and work issues is difficult."
Like many other hospitals around the country, the Janet Weis Children's Hospital is finding innovative ways of supporting parents of premature babies. One of the ways they do this is by offering rooms in the NICU area for parents to stay with their babies overnight prior to discharge. This way, parents can become more comfortable with their baby's care needs before going home.
"We also ask parents if they would like to participate when the team of doctors and nurses do the daily rounds at their baby's bedsides," says Dr. Spahr. "For families with babies who will have special needs after discharge, we arrange multi-disciplinary team meetings with them to go over the plans and their concerns." All of these facilitate closer bonding with the baby, better understanding of the baby's needs and better preparation for care at home. This type of support is so important that the March of Dimes and hospitals around the country have joined forces to provide information, support and care for parents of premature babies.
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