Kangaroo Care
Brigham and Women's Hospital offers Kangaroo Care to infants and parents as a way to share warmth and natural closeness.
Lactation Support Services Certified lactation consultants have advanced training in breastfeeding support. They help mothers and families initiate and maintain breastfeeding, overcome obstacles, and provide emotional and educational support to prevent early weaning and enhance maternal satisfaction.
Parent Information Groups
The NICU offers support for parents anticipating their baby's (or babies') discharge
Developmental Care in the NICU
The NICU staff is well trained in the specialized care premature and underdeveloped babies need.
Lodging and Meal Resources
The NICU offers information and assistance with lodging and meal resources.
CaringBridge Websites
CaringBridge, which Brigham and Women's Hospital has been sponsoring since fall 2005, offers free, easy-to-create web sites that help connect friends and family when they need it most. It "allows patients and families to easily create a secure Web site and sign in at any time to post journal entries and photographs. Visitors use a personal confidential, Web address and password to read updates and post encouraging messages." (BWH Bulletin, December 16, 2005) For more information, go to
http://www.caringbridge.org or, if in Brigham and Women's, visit the Bretholtz Center for Patients and Families. From the Bretholtz Center website, click on the first link, "What in the Kessler Library," and then click on "CaringBridge."
Neonatal Respiratory Therapy
Respiratory Therapy is involved in a wide range of interventions in the NICU.
Neonatal Nutrition
The NICU is staffed with Licensed/Registered Dietitians who have specialized training in the area of neonatal nutrition. They participate in teaching rounds, collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to develop nutrition care plans for each infant, monitor growth progress, and provide parent education.
Infant Hearing Screening Program
The Infant Hearing Screening Program was established to identify hearing loss in newborns as early as possible. All infants born in a hospital in the state of Massachusetts are screened for hearing loss. The screening is performed while your baby is at Brigham and Women's Hospital, or at the baby's discharge hospital if your baby is transferred. Most babies pass the hearing screening, indicating that hearing is adequate for normal speech and language development. However, if your baby does not pass the screening, our knowledgeable and compassionate hearing screeners will set up a diagnostic hearing test appointment for you to determine the hearing status of your baby. If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Jennifer Miller, Au.D., Newborn Hearing Screening Coordinator, at (617) 713-2020.
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