Neonatology / New Born Care
This discipline, generally the most expensive, technologically advanced and resource-intensive area of medical care, integrates many specialties and diverse technologies, holding out the hope of survival to patients who are acutely and critically ill. The care, provided in a specialized unit of a hospital called the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), requires unwavering commitment, precision and synchronized teamwork.
Nursing newborns up to 30 days after birth is called Neonatal care. When a child is born with any complication, they require special care around the clock.
There are 3 levels of nursing provided during Neonatal care:
Level 1 consists of healthy newborn sharing the room with the mother. Both the patients are discharged quickly when no signs of complications occur.
Level 2 provided intermediate or special care for premature or ill newborns. Special therapy or more time may be needed for the infant to be healthy enough to get discharged.
Level 3 is for infants who are in need of high technology to survive, including breathing and feeding tubes. Infants requiring this level of nursing are usually kept in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
The Nest specializes in NICU nursing and has a fully equipped nursery to handle any type of emergency. An expert team of neonatologists, NICU nurses and critical care specialists with special training in working in a NICU is at hand to keep your child safe and healthy.
We have the latest diagnostic and monitoring equipment, backed by the clinical expertise of our skilled staff, to detect and tackle complications.
Babies born before three weeks from the due date, also referred to as premature babies, need extra care to help them catch up on the growth and development they missed out on in the womb.
Some of the common problems associated with premature babies are:
- Breathing problems
- Bleeding in the brain
- Heart conditions
- Gut and digestive disorders
- Eye problems
At The Nest, special attention is provided to premature babies.
Newborns in the NICU often suffer from multiple complications requiring a range of medical, technological, and surgical interventions. A team of skilled and experienced nursing staff is required to tackle the challenges that various challenges that these newborns face.
NICU nurses have special skills including:
- Neonatal resuscitation and stabilization
- IV initiation
- Obtaining blood from arterial lines
- Management of central lines
- Care of the ventilated neonate, including high frequency ventilation
- Breastfeeding skills for premature infants
Today, the survival rate of premature babies has significantly increased, with an understanding of the physiology of the newborn, better management, and application of newer technologies through NICU. At The Nest, a team of neonatologists, neonatal nurses, and allied health specialists watch over the baby’s growth and development. The availability of experts from a variety of fields apart from the maternal and infant care wings give your baby a good chance at catching up with normal babies and living a healthy life.
We work as a team to ensure that you and your baby stay healthy. The multi-disciplinary approach followed at The Nest allows you to have the best quality health care. Areas of expertise under The Nest for the constant attention and care that you and your baby deserve include:
- General surgery
- Thoracic surgery
- Plastic surgery
- Maxillofacial surgery
- Orthopedic surgery
- Cardiac surgery
- Pediatric Surgery
Sub-specialist Medical Teams:
- Clinical nutrition
- Thoracic medicine
- Genetic medicine
- Metabolic medicine
The NICU staff will work with you to provide the most comfortable environment for your baby. Making your baby feel relaxed in a quiet and soothing setting will help your baby grow and develop. Our nurse will work with you to find a comfortable position for your baby and teach you about appropriate stimulation.
Choosing a Pediatric Doctor
We will ask you to identify the doctor in our OPD who will care for your baby once he or she is home.
Dieticians work closely with the NICU care team to ensure your baby’s optimal nutrition and growth.
NICU Patient Care
The nurses work closely with the NICU care team to ensure the effectiveness and safety of medications. They also oversee the preparation of all intravenous nutrition preparations and medications, which your baby may require during his/her NICU stay. The unit coordinators at the reception area are a central resource team for parents and NICU staff. The unit coordinators ensure the smooth flow of unit activities and coordinate admission, discharge, and transfer.
Family and Visitors
We welcome parents to the NICU. In order to maintain the privacy of patients and families, parents and visitors are asked not to visit during change-of-shift periods. To protect babies, all visitors should be free of infectious illnesses.
- Due to space limitations, we only accommodate parents. Please note that they must check-in daily with the unit coordinator to screen for potential infectious conditions.
- If an emergency arises in the NICU, you may be asked to temporarily wait in the NICU waiting area. Parents may call day or night for progress reports about their infants.
- Cellular phone and other electronic devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) may not be used in the NICU as they interfere with the performance of the equipment. They may be used outside the NICU in the waiting area.
Staff members will not discuss the condition or care of infants with anyone other than parents, clinicians or service providers who require this information to assure continued high quality care. We do not allow visitors to look into the cribs of other infants unless invited to do so by their parents.
Neonatologists are pediatricians who specialize in caring for newborn infants. An attending neonatologist is available in the hospital 24 hours a day and is responsible for patient care in the NICU.
Your infant will have primary care from a team of nurses who will coordinate his/her care from admission through discharge. Your baby’s nurses will work with you as you learn to care for your baby and prepare to take him/her home.
NICU patient care assistant
The NICU patient care assistants are specially trained to assist nurses in the NICU. They assist the NICU nurses while feeding the baby, taking vital signs, and bathing.
When your baby is ready to go home from the NICU, his or her primary team will contact your pediatric provider to discuss important information about your baby.
Fortis Healthcare’s Centres of Excellence for Critical Care offer 24/7 care to patients in potentially life-threatening conditions who need continuous monitoring to be carried out by multidisciplinary team.
Such situations arise in case of hemodynamic instability (hypertension/hypotension), airway or respiratory compromise (such as ventilator support), acute renal failure, potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmias, the cumulative effects of multiple organ system failure, or even in the crucial hours after major surgeries when the patient is deemed too unstable to transfer to a less intensively monitored unit.The discipline, generally the most expensive, technologically advanced and resource-intensive area of medical care, integrates many specialties and diverse technologies, holding out the hope of survival to patients who are acutely and critically ill. The care, provided in a specialized unit of a hospital called the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), requires unwavering commitment, precision and synchronized teamwork.