At Ninewells Hospital NICU we believe in Family Integrated Care. This means that we recognise that you, the baby’s family, are the most important people in your baby’s care. We know that this can be an anxious and frightening time for you so hopefully you will find this webpage helpful and it will give you some of the information you need in order to care for your baby during their stay on the unit.
During the early days in the neonatal unit, parents often think that there is nothing they can do for their baby and sometimes feel helpless. This could not be further from the truth. If you are able to be there with your baby you are actively supporting your baby’s development. Adjusting to life outside of the womb can be quite stressful in the early days, but your baby knows your voice, your touch and your smell, therefore we would encourage you to spend as much time with your baby as possible in order to help care for them.
We will show you how to do this safely and we will include you in as many of the decisions about your baby’s care as possible. We know that it will be more difficult to spend time with your baby if you have other children at home. However there are still things you can do to help your baby stay calm and reduce stress, such as using the comfort squares to leave your scent for baby.
Family Integrated Care
