Preemies and the NICU - What You Should Know

This article is intended to help mothers of preemies understand what they will be going through and what to expect in the NICU. It will also give an overview of the type of equipment you may have to get used to as well as an understanding of your rights as the mother of an NICU baby.

It is very difficult to explain what life is like for a NICU parent. It is utterly surreal. Once you enter the NICU, it's like you enter a bubble where normal rules don't apply. This can be very difficult to get used to, and I'm hoping to answer some of the questions you have to make the experience a little bit easier.

This article is about families.

Welcome to the club where membership is anything but free. The toll having a preemie takes on a family is multifaceted. The emotional, physical, financial, and other burdens of having a preemie in the NICU can be overwhelming...but parents know that this is something they have to see through, for the health and well-being of their child.

No parent wants to be facing the NICU, particularly with a child born too soon. It can be very difficult to adjust to the way the NICU does things. Atop that, many parents are dealing with feelings of guilt or betrayal. Women can feel betrayed by their own bodies, and both parents can feel like maybe they did something wrong.

You didn't do something wrong. The fact is, there may be a lot of reasons that women deliver their babies too soon, and we don't know all of them by far. There is no sense tearing yourself apart over 'could have, would have, should have' when you need to keep your energy up to help your baby. You may never have the answer to why your baby was born early, but you have to get through this, and you will. It's going to be hard enough without you tearing yourself down...and I know it can be difficult, but for the sake of yourself and your baby, please go easy on yourself. If you can't take care of yourself, you can't be there for your baby.

This article is about the NICU.