Neonatal care: What should you know?

Before we dive into the topic, let us first understand what the word ‘neonatal’ means. Neonatal means a newborn, or the first 28 days of a baby’s life.

Neonatal care is essentially a type of care which a baby born prematurely or is sick receives in a hospital. The place where a baby receives this care is called the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This unit is a part of hospitals and helps to provide care for babies who are born prematurely (before 37 weeks’ gestation). Babies who are born with a medical condition and need specific treatments or newborns whose weight low are all kept in these neonatal care units.

Why is your baby in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)?

When the baby is in the mother’s womb, it depends on the functions from the mother. This includes breathing, eating, elimination of waste, and immune protection. However, once the baby leaves the womb, its body systems must adapt to the new environment and carry out the following functions on its own:

• The lungs must breathe air on their own.
• The cardiac and pulmonary circulation must adapt to the new environment.
• The digestive system must begin to process food and excrete waste without any help.
• The kidneys must balance fluids and chemicals in the body and excrete waste on their own.
• The liver and immune systems must begin working on their own and built.

Once your baby is delivered, the doctor examines if all the vital systems of your baby are functioning properly. If the functioning is proper, then, then the baby is handed over to the biological parents. In case the doctors notice that your baby has trouble making the transition outside the womb, then your baby is taken under neonatal care. Generally, a preterm birth, a difficult birth, or birth defects are common reasons to put your newborn in NICU.  

What is preterm or premature birth?

Generally, babies have to complete 37 weeks in their mother’s womb. However, due to certain complications or unfortunate events, not all babies complete this mark. Babies who are born before 37 weeks are preterm or premature babies. Commonly, it is the premature babies who need neonatal care.

What does low birth weight mean?

Babies who weigh 3401.94g (7.5lbs) are healthy and have normal weight. Babies who are born with lesser weight may need to spend time in the neonatal unit. Here are some weight and terms used to say that your baby didn’t as a normal birth weight:

• Low birth weight = when the baby is born weighing less than 2500g (5lbs)
• Very low birth weight = when the baby is born weighing less than 1500g (3lbs)
• Extremely low birth weight = when the baby is born weighing less than 1000g (2lbs)

The neonatal care unit has a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses who work together with parents to ensure that your baby is safe and healthy. They also help to create a plan of care for high-risk newborns.