Saint Joseph Hospital & Good Samaritan Hospital
Neonatal Intensive Care Units
(NICU)
Developmental Care
Your Baby’s Development
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Premature babies’ (preemies) brains are very delicate. The best place for your baby and their brain to grow is inside of their mother where it is warm, quiet, and dark. When that is not possible, the next best place is an NICU. Things in their environment (light, noise, even touch) affect how their brain continues to grow after they are born.
You may have heard or read that preemies have a higher risk of having problems in areas like language, behavior, or even learning. We now know, however, that giving preemies care based on their gestational age and growth can help lower these risks. This is called “developmental care”. This type of care lowers stress on your preemie, and can lower or even prevent some problems later in life.
You can help with this by learning what your baby’s stress signals are, and learning what sorts of touch, light and sound are least stressful and most comforting to your baby.
Although our patient is your baby, we believe that it is important to support and care for your and your family as well so that you are better able to care for your baby. Our goal is to make our plan of care for your baby with you and your family.
Learning from you about what you see when caring for your baby helps us all learn how your baby responds to their environment. Your baby’s actions tell us what is stressful and what is comforting. It also gives us clues about how your baby is growing, and helps us plan their care from day to day.