During your baby's stay in the NICU there will be many different people caring for them. We wanted to review who the members of your baby's medical care team are and what role they play in the health and wellbeing of your baby.
Your baby's medical care team:
Neonatologist: A pediatrician who went on to complete 3 additional years of specialty training in neonatology. They are the leader of your baby's care team and make the plans for your baby each day along with your baby's care team.
Neonatal Fellow: A pediatrician who is currently doing 3 additional years of training in the NICU to become a neonatologist. They make the daily plans for your baby along with the neonatal attending.
Pediatric Resident: A doctor who has graduated medical school and is doing 3 years of training to become a pediatrician.
Medical Student: A student who is in training to become a doctor; they are currently in medical school.
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP): A registered nurse (RN) who completed an additional 2 year training program to become a nurse practitioner who only cares for babies who are in the NICU.
Physician Assistant (PA): A PA is someone who has a bachelor's degree and then completed 2 additional years of medical training.
Registered Nurse (RN): Someone who has completed an accredited nurse training program.
Respiratory Therapist (RT): RTs are specifically trained in the different types of breathing machines that your baby may need while they are in the NICU and how they can best help your baby breathe well.
Additional people you may meet in the NICU:
Physical Therapist: Once your baby is old enough, your medical team may ask for a physical therapist to start doing some gentle stretching and exercises with your baby. These movements are specific for preterm infants and have been shown to improve their developmental outcomes. Your baby's physical therapist can teach you how to do them both while in the NICU and once you are home.
Occupational Therapist: The occupational therapist helps to reduce the stressful conditions that your baby is exposed to as a result of his/her prematurity and being in the NICU. Sometimes it may be helping your baby be positioned in a different way other times it may be changing the lighting or noises your baby is hearing. They work to provide your baby the best environment to support their physical and neurodevelopmental needs and they grow.
Speech Therapist: This is someone who is specially trained in how people use their mouth to eat and talk. The speech therapists that work in the NICU often have additional education in the unique issues that preterm infants have and are commonly consulted when a baby is having difficulty feeding by bottle.
Registered Dietician (RD): A dietitian who works in the NICU has specialized training in the specific dietary needs of preterm and term infants and closely monitors their growth to make sure that they are getting the best nutrition to gain weight and height appropriately.
Lactation Consultant: A healthcare professional who has additional education in helping mothers be successful breast feeders or be able to provide pumped breastmilk for infants who are unable to breastfeed. You should request to meet with a lactation consultant as soon as possible after birth. They can make sure you are doing all things possible to get your body started in producing breast milk which is very important for all newborns but especially preterm infants.
Discharge Planner: This person can help you and your family with all types of things from the moment your baby is admitted to the NICU. Some of the things that they help families with include helping parents get back and forth to the hospital (help with taxis, gas cards, parking passes, etc), helping with housing when you are too far to drive to and from the hospital each day (many hospitals have a Ronald McDonald house that provide free housing for families with children in the hospital), and they can also help you get your infant signed up on your health insurance plan. They will follow your baby's stay in the NICU and once he/she is ready to go home, your discharge planner can help coordinate any home care needs as well as tell you about community resources that are available in your area.
Social Work: A social worker can provide many of things that a discharge planner can do like helping with housing or financial help with getting to and from the hospital (gas cards, bus passes, etc) but they are a very important part of helping you process the emotions that come with having a baby in the NICU. They can meet with you as often as necessary to talk with you and be a listening ear to validate your feelings about this journey you never expected to be on and may feel very unprepared for.
Your baby's medical care team:
Neonatologist: A pediatrician who went on to complete 3 additional years of specialty training in neonatology. They are the leader of your baby's care team and make the plans for your baby each day along with your baby's care team.
Neonatal Fellow: A pediatrician who is currently doing 3 additional years of training in the NICU to become a neonatologist. They make the daily plans for your baby along with the neonatal attending.
Pediatric Resident: A doctor who has graduated medical school and is doing 3 years of training to become a pediatrician.
Medical Student: A student who is in training to become a doctor; they are currently in medical school.
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP): A registered nurse (RN) who completed an additional 2 year training program to become a nurse practitioner who only cares for babies who are in the NICU.
Physician Assistant (PA): A PA is someone who has a bachelor's degree and then completed 2 additional years of medical training.
Registered Nurse (RN): Someone who has completed an accredited nurse training program.
Respiratory Therapist (RT): RTs are specifically trained in the different types of breathing machines that your baby may need while they are in the NICU and how they can best help your baby breathe well.
Additional people you may meet in the NICU:
Physical Therapist: Once your baby is old enough, your medical team may ask for a physical therapist to start doing some gentle stretching and exercises with your baby. These movements are specific for preterm infants and have been shown to improve their developmental outcomes. Your baby's physical therapist can teach you how to do them both while in the NICU and once you are home.
Occupational Therapist: The occupational therapist helps to reduce the stressful conditions that your baby is exposed to as a result of his/her prematurity and being in the NICU. Sometimes it may be helping your baby be positioned in a different way other times it may be changing the lighting or noises your baby is hearing. They work to provide your baby the best environment to support their physical and neurodevelopmental needs and they grow.
Speech Therapist: This is someone who is specially trained in how people use their mouth to eat and talk. The speech therapists that work in the NICU often have additional education in the unique issues that preterm infants have and are commonly consulted when a baby is having difficulty feeding by bottle.
Registered Dietician (RD): A dietitian who works in the NICU has specialized training in the specific dietary needs of preterm and term infants and closely monitors their growth to make sure that they are getting the best nutrition to gain weight and height appropriately.
Lactation Consultant: A healthcare professional who has additional education in helping mothers be successful breast feeders or be able to provide pumped breastmilk for infants who are unable to breastfeed. You should request to meet with a lactation consultant as soon as possible after birth. They can make sure you are doing all things possible to get your body started in producing breast milk which is very important for all newborns but especially preterm infants.
Discharge Planner: This person can help you and your family with all types of things from the moment your baby is admitted to the NICU. Some of the things that they help families with include helping parents get back and forth to the hospital (help with taxis, gas cards, parking passes, etc), helping with housing when you are too far to drive to and from the hospital each day (many hospitals have a Ronald McDonald house that provide free housing for families with children in the hospital), and they can also help you get your infant signed up on your health insurance plan. They will follow your baby's stay in the NICU and once he/she is ready to go home, your discharge planner can help coordinate any home care needs as well as tell you about community resources that are available in your area.
Social Work: A social worker can provide many of things that a discharge planner can do like helping with housing or financial help with getting to and from the hospital (gas cards, bus passes, etc) but they are a very important part of helping you process the emotions that come with having a baby in the NICU. They can meet with you as often as necessary to talk with you and be a listening ear to validate your feelings about this journey you never expected to be on and may feel very unprepared for.
