More NICU information
Medical equipment plays a significant role in caring for premature babies in neonatal intensive care units.
Incubators, sometimes called by brand names such as Isolettes or Giraffes, are specially designed beds for babies in at NICUs.
Incubators keep the baby warm and control humidity in a clean environment, as some premature babies have difficulty staying warm on their own and are prone to dehydration.
Some preemies, such as those born more than three months early, have fragile skin that is sensitive to touch. Incubators also help minimize excess contact while allowing parents, nurses and doctors to touch them through portholes.
Incubators are used in conjunction with other equipment, such as ventilators or phototherapy lights. Lights are used when babies have a degree of jaundice, a common ailment that causes skin to turn yellow.
Nearby monitors keep constant tabs on the baby’s heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation.
Source: St. Cloud Hospital, Ohmeda Medical manual, www.neonatology.org
BLOG SHOWS WHAT NICU WAS LIKE FOR MOM
Jen Day chronicled daughters Allison and Mia’s journey in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a blog for family and friends.
Here’s a passage she wrote Aug. 11, about two weeks after their birth:
“I realized over the last couple of days that this roller coaster Shawn and I are on rivals any we’ve been on with such high highs and, unfortunately, such frightening drops. After the extreme joy of finally getting to snuggle Mia, I learned just how much I never want to again see a doctor and two nurses working quickly around our baby Alli whose levels had crashed, bagging her to try to raise her oxygen levels and hoping that her heart rate would rebound. Shawn witnessed this with Mia just a couple of days ago, and though I could see he was shaken by the experience, I didn’t understand just how scary it was until I saw it happen for myself. The doctor and nurses were so understanding, and reassured me that this sort of thing is just preemies acting like preemies. I guess it is good to remember just how fragile these little girls are and that we can’t take for granted all of the good things that have been going their way, because things can sure take turns for the worse, and quickly too.”
After a month of bed rest at home, Jen Day was admitted to St. Cloud Hospital in late July in the hopes of prolonging her pregnancy with twins.
Day, a Technical High School Spanish teacher, was there one day before giving birth to daughters Mia Margaret and Allison Karyl on July 26.
The twins were born at 24 weeks, more than three months before their full-term due date. Among the youngest babies cared for at the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, they each weighed about 1 pound, 9 ounces.
They were so small, so fragile, Day was scared to hold them when nurses first said she could a few weeks after their birth.
On Aug. 5 she cupped their heads in her hands for the first time and a few days later, she held Mia.
‘Sickest of the sick’
St. Cloud Hospital’s NICU is one of about a dozen in the state that cares for premature or sick babies, serving 14 Central Minnesota counties. While it doesn’t have surgery and heart bypass, it cares for “the sickest of the sick,” said Diane Pelant, clinical director of the Children’s Center.
With four neonatologists on staff, the hospital has delivered and cared for twins and triplets. Because of the medical staff’s work, Mia and Allison Day, now almost 3 months old, are expected to go home within the next week or two.
Higher-order multiples, such as the Mrozek quintuplets of Sartell, require more hospital staff immediately after birth — in their case five neonatologists, one for each baby.
At least 30 medical personnel — including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists — assisted in the delivery and the immediate care of Jackson, Lainey, Matthew, Breah and Nathan Mrozek.
It’s among the reasons Jessie Mrozek delivered at Abbott Northwestern and the babies are cared for at Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, Jessie’s husband, Rory, has said.
“It’s a busy enough unit that we take care of babies of this age and size on a regular basis,” said Dr. Bruce Ferrara, the quintuplets’ primary neonatologist.
Children’s has cared for eight sets of quadruplets, four quintuplets and one set of sextuplets, hospital spokeswoman Allison Sandve said.
“The fact that there were five at once doesn’t happen very often,” Ferrara said. “But to get five babies of that age and size in a day is not unusual for us.”
The journey home
Mia and Allison Day have more than tripled in size in the three months they’ve been at St. Cloud’s NICU.
Each weighs about 6˝ pounds, and their parents Jen and Shawn Day now hold them multiple times a day. They’ve grown about 4 inches to 18 inches in length.
Medical staff were calm and supportive, Jen Day said, but it’s been a nerve-wracking journey for the couple.
Shawn Day, a physician at Heartland, worried about complications that can arise in preemies — something he’s studied and seen firsthand during an NICU rotation.
“I was pretty nervous about a lot of their potential complications ... especially with their eyes and brain,” Shawn Day said.
While each premature baby’s health is unique, babies sometimes face a rocky road before they’re ready to go home. Sometimes medical care can include surgery or machines such as a ventilator or ECMO, which temporarily supports heart and lung functions. Sometimes infections can develop. Sometimes babies get worse before they get better.
Mia and Allison developed medical complications related to prematurity. Both had chronic lung disease, a common medical issue in preemies. Because their lungs were so fragile at birth, they became damaged and needed help breathing.
Allison also had surgery at University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview for patent ductus arteriosus, a common premature heart problem that arises when a baby’s blood passageway used during pregnancy does not close after birth. After four days at Fairview, Allison was transferred back to St. Cloud.
When stable, it’s often easier and better for the family if babies are transferred to the NICU closest to home, Ferrara said. At Children’s, they’re also sometimes transferred to a non-intensive care ward in the neonatal program.
When babies are farther away, hospitals like Children’s provide accommodations such as sleeping rooms and a family center.
For the Days, who live within walking distance from St. Cloud Hospital, being so close has made a big difference.
“It’s nice that it’s so close. I can get here very day,” Jen Day said.