Child Care For Premature Babies

Your preemie s special needs call for special care probably in a neonatal intensive care unit nicu.

Child care for premature babies.

The nurses will instruct you on either breast or. Having a baby is a full time responsibility that you need to be ready for if you ever have a baby. When you re caring for a premature baby it s best to ignore the typical infant milestones and consider your child s adjusted age. That means your preemie won t act like a full term newborn until at least his due date and possibly not even then if his development was hindered by his immature neurological system.

How to cope with the stress spend as much time with her in the special care nursery as your condition and hers permit. Feeding preventing illness safety and general baby care are all a little different for babies who were born early. Some premature babies. You can also feed her as soon as your doctor says it s ok.

Before choosing child care for your premature baby talk to your pediatrician about which types of settings would be best. Even if this is not your first baby you may have trepidation about how to take care of your premature baby. Taking care of any baby will require you to change and adapt to new situations and i will also require you to change for the better. Some preemies do fine in conventional child care settings but others especially those who were born very early or who had additional complications may have immune systems that are too weak for group child care settings.

Here s what to expect. Even if you can t hold her. Preemies are different from full term babies and have different needs. You might feel helpless but there are many steps you can take to help your baby.