Wasie Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Help for Parents

Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) need special care that only medical professionals can provide. However, research has proven that babies who have the active involvement of their parents gain weight and get better faster.

Below is a list of some of the ways parents can participate in their baby's growth and development.

Visit Your Baby Daily
Depending on your baby's condition and gestational age, daily needs may vary. The nurse will let you know how you may participate in your baby's care, which may include diaper changing, temperature taking, bathing and holding.

Hold Your Baby
Hold baby and include Kangaroo Care.

Talk to Your Baby
Your baby will recognize your voice and will be comforted by it. Newborns are calmed by a soft, monotone voice.

Make Your Baby's Isolette Like a Little Nursery
Bring in receiving blankets, a blanket to cover the isolette for keeping the light out, a music box or a tape player with lullabies, and family photos. You may bring in T-shirts and sleepers when your baby is big enough — ask your nurse when it is appropriate.

Breastfeed your Baby
If you plan to breastfeed your baby, we have a family educator and lactation consultants to help you. The NICU has a specially designed breastfeeding room to facilitate privacy and comfort. We are equipped with hospital-grade electric breast pumps and many refrigerators and freezers for the collection and storage of breast milk. If needed, we can assist you with the rental or purchase of a pump.

Include Kangaroo Care
Also known as skin-to-skin contact, Kangaroo Care is the practice of holding your preterm infant, wearing only a diaper, against your chest, skin-to-skin. During Kangaroo Care, the baby receives stimulation due to the physical closeness and the familiarity of parental touching. Kangaroo Care provides an opportunity for you to develop that special bond between parent and infant that can be difficult to attain in the NICU. Ask your nurse for additional information.

Arrange for Direct Donor Blood
If your baby needs a blood transfusion while in the hospital, you have the option of obtaining blood donations from family or friends. For more information regarding blood donations, you may:

  • Ask a nurse for information on "Directed Donations."
  • Community Blood Centers of South Florida directly at (888) 454-2362.

Encourage Visitation
At the NICU at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (JDCH), we encourage families to visit their baby. Visitation allows parents time to bond with their baby and also gives the staff opportunities to teach the skills parents need to know to care for their baby at home.

To ensure your baby's health and safety, the following rules apply:

  • To preserve the confidentiality of our patients, visitation is not allowed during shift changes.
    - Between the hours of 6:30AM - 7:30AM, daily.
    - Between the hours of 6:30PM - 7:30PM, daily.
  • Parents or designated significant others will be given ID bracelets that correspond with their baby's bracelet. These bracelets must be worn at all times. Do not take them off until your baby goes home. When visiting your baby, please be aware that your baby's nurse may ask to see the bracelet for identification purposes.
  • Only TWO people should visit at the bedside at one time. If parents have additional visitors, please have them wait in the lobby. Noise level at the bedside should be kept to a minimum to enhance our quiet zone.
  • Grandparents may visit with or without the parents. All other visitors must be with a parent. For identification purposes, parents should accompany grandparents on their first visit.
  • Brothers and sisters of the baby may visit if they are 5 or older. This rule is established to reduce the risk of babies catching an illness that could make them sick. All other visitors must be 18 or older.
  • When you arrive to visit, you will be buzzed in twice. Please be patient — this is to ensure the safety and security of your baby.
  • Before entering the unit, everyone must wash their hands for three minutes at the sink to the left of the unit's entrance.
  • In the best interest of the babies, if you or your visitors are experiencing any of the following symptoms: cough, cold, fever, rash, vomiting or diarrhea. Please do not visit until you are feeling better.
  • To ensure the protection and privacy of our patients and their families, information will be given directly to the parents only.

Contact the NICU
You may call anytime to check on your infant's condition. To contact NICU, dial (954) 265-5831, or you may go through the hospital operator by dialing (954) 265-4270. To maintain strict patient confidentiality for your baby, a "password" will be utilized. This password will be used when you are calling to check on your baby. This will ensure that information about your baby's condition will not be given over the phone to persons other than the parents or guardians.

Attend Classes
We offer many classes to provide you with greater involvement in the care of your baby and more opportunities for bonding. Please call (954) 265-5831 for the current classes being offered, or talk with your baby's nurse to sign up for classes. We encourage your participation in your baby's care, including, but not limited to, changing diapers, taking temperatures, bathing, weighing, feeding and holding. We also encourage "Kangaroo Care"
and infant massage, especially for our smallest babies.

A social worker is available to assist you with any financial concerns, to identify community resources and to provide emotional support for you and your family. Support group meetings, facilitated by a social worker, are held weekly so you can network with other families.

During your baby's stay in the NICU, he or she will be provided with many services, with the ultimate goal of achieving normal growth and development, and discharge home. One of these services is PEIP (Prevention and Early Intervention Program), a program focused on the developmental care of your infant, where early detection and intervention by physical, occupational and speech therapists encourage normal growth and development.

Use the Family Resource Center
A room outside of the unit has been dedicated to parents for use as a library. A selection of books and a computer are available during your visit, as well as numerous pamphlets for you to review. Please ask your baby's nurse for access to the resource room.

Celebrate the Graduation
The JDCH NICU staff takes great pride in what they do and enjoys seeing the patients after discharge. Please keep us up to date on your baby's progress. Parents often bring their children in and/or send pictures to show them off. In addition, the NICU, along with the support of the parents and families of some of our graduates, puts on a "Celebration of Life Luncheon." At the luncheon, the NICU staff, graduates and their families, and "former roommates" can catch up.

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