After your baby is born
When your baby is admitted into the neonatal unit, the healthcare team will act quickly to meet your baby's needs.
As soon as possible, the team will explain the procedures and equipment your baby needs and how it is helping your baby.
Our team will keep you updated and encourage you to ask questions throughout the admission process. Once your baby is settled, we will be able to show you around the unit and explain where facilities are located.
We will print out a photo of your baby and if you haven't met your baby yet, we will arrange for you to see the photo as soon as possible.
The length of time your baby is in the neonatal unit depends on how long they require specialist care.
Your baby may be discharged directly home or transferred to another hospital to continue their care.
The medical and nursing team are the best people to ask about your baby’s progress.
Look at our page Getting ready to go home for more helpful information to work through with your baby’s healthcare team to prepare you to transfer to another ward, hospital or home.
The high-tech equipment in our NICUs and Special Care Nurseries (SCN) may make you feel anxious at first but remember most of it is for monitoring your baby.
The staff looking after your baby will explain what treatment, equipment and monitoring your baby needs.
- An incubator or heated cot may be needed to help your baby’s body temperature stay normal.
- A ventilator or continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine may be needed to help them to breathe.
- They may need machines to deliver fluids and medicines.
- Monitors are usually attached to your baby’s body so that their heart rate, breathing rate and blood oxygen levels can be measured.
This monitoring helps staff observe your baby without disturbing them.
To help you keep in touch and see your baby if you cannot come to the unit for any reason, and to involve siblings, our staff can connect you with our FamCam video link. This allows you to live stream video to watch your baby, without sound.
The calls can be arranged with staff. A link will be sent to your mobile phone or online device via your email address.
We have worked with Health Support Services IT and Health Direct to ensure this link is secure.
Please contact your baby’s nurse or the shift coordinator if you would like to arrange this. We will give you the information on how the call works and set up a time.
The video call may be ended if your baby needs a procedure.
Visit the FamCam information for parents page for more information
As premature and sick babies have limited defence to fight infection, please do not enter the Neonatal Unit if you or anyone in your household have:
- fever
- cough
- sore throat
- cold or flu-like symptoms
- any other infectious symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting
If unsure, please speak to one of our staff before entering the unit.
Staff have a duty to ensure all people in the unit are well and will ask parents who are unwell not to visit.
Hand washing
Please wash your hands upon arriving at the area your baby is in.
There is an alcohol-based hand sanitiser provided near your baby’s bedside for everyone to use, prior to and after touching your baby. This is one of the most important ways you can protect your baby from infection.
Please clean your hands before and after entering the NICU and after you have used your mobile phone or any other personal device at the bedside.
You may notice some staff wearing personal protective clothing (gowns and gloves) within the Neonatal Unit while caring for some babies. This is to prevent the spread of particular viruses and bacteria within the unit under the advice of the Infection Prevention and Control Team.
The most important thing you can do is always remember to wash your hands and use the alcohol-based hand sanitiser when:
- entering and leaving the Neonatal Unit
- before and after touching your baby
- before and after contact with objects and equipment
You can remind staff to wash their hands before touching your baby.
Medical or nursing staff will always answer any concerns you may have.
Having a baby in the neonatal unit can be an exhausting, anxious and fearful time for parents and families.
You are faced with worry about your sick or preterm baby amongst unfamiliar faces and within a strange environment. This is in addition to dealing with the normal day-to-day pressures of life and family.
The staff within the neonatal unit recognise this and are available to offer assistance and support at any time.
While it may seem hard to think about yourself while your baby is in the neonatal unit, taking care of yourself helps you stay healthy and will give you the energy to spend time with your baby.
Some suggestions include:
- Try making a daily routine. Take time to have regular, healthy meals, drink plenty of water and get a good night’s sleep.
- Take a break from the neonatal unit and get some fresh air.
- Talk to other families within the neonatal unit. They may understand what you are going through more than anyone else!
- Accept help from others – friends and family often want to help but don’t know how. Meals dropped off for you, babysitting children, even walking the dog are all things they could do to take the pressure of you.
- Talk to someone about your feelings if you are feeling overwhelmed. This can be family, friends, staff in the neonatal unit or the social worker.
- Thinking about what you need to bring to hospital each day can be very tiring, especially after just giving birth. Items you may need include: a change of clothes, expressing equipment, water bottle and snacks.
KEMH also has a wide range of family assistance services. The hospital also has specialist services for Aboriginal families.
At PCH, a range of assistance for families is available. Ask one of your treating team if you'd like to connect with a social worker or a member of our Aboriginal Liaison Service.
If at any time you feel like you aren’t coping and need extra help, mothers can be referred or self-refer to KEMH's Psychology Service if you gave birth at KEMH and have a baby in the neonatal unit for up to 12 months following the birth of your baby. At PCH a psychologist is available for support, please speak to your nurse for more information to arrange.
Support organisations
There are many organisations dedicated to helping families navigate the journey through the neonatal unit, providing practical support and information. These include:
Helping Little Hands
A charity run by graduate NICU parents providing emotional, practical and financial support to families of babies in the Neonatal Unit.
They provide constantly stocked cupboards of food, fruit, coffee pods and snacks for parents to access at any time in the parent lounge.
Helping Little Hands also offer services by referral from Social Work including fuel and transport vouchers to help with the financial cost of travelling to and from hospital, food hampers, meals program and essential baby items for going home. There is also a specific support fund for Aboriginal families.
Tiny Sparks WA
A volunteer run, not-for-profit organisation whose mission it is to improve the health and wellbeing of Western Australian families experiencing a high risk pregnancy, babies requiring admission to the NICU and the ongoing developmental and medical needs of a child who begins life in the neonatal unit.
Their volunteers work within the community to provide families with neonatal unit care packages, bedrest care packages, developmental playgroups, coffee mornings, workshops and peer-to-peer support.
Miracle Babies Foundation
A national organisation providing support for families of premature and sick newborns.
Miracle Babies Nurture Information hub is designed to assist you and your family through different life stages of your growing and developing child beyond the baby, infant and toddler years.
Nurture Time is offered at KEMH Mondays and Wednesdays 10am to 3pm and PCH Tuesdays 1 to 3pm, where a Nurture Program Support Team visit the unit to offer support, guidance and hope. Their team members are graduate parents who have experienced a premature or sick newborn.
Life's Little Treasures Foundation
A charity which is dedicated to providing support, friendship, information and assistance to families of children born prematurely and sick.
Parents are able to access information through their book ‘A Guiding Hand for Families in NICU and Special Care’ and on their website.
There is an online Facebook live chat called NICU Connections, every Friday from 11am to 12pm where parents can connect with other families across Australia.
Heartkids
The only national not-for-profit organisation providing support for people and families impacted by congenital or childhood acquired heart disease.
They can provide face to face or phone support, access to information and education, practical advice based on experience, connect to the HeartKids community and practical assistance- for example patient travel and food vouchers.
Multiple Birth Association Western Australia
A not-for-profit organisation run entirely by a committee of volunteer parents of multiple birth children.
Services include workshops for expectant parents, breastfeeding multiples, coffee groups, equipment to hire and monthly newsletters.
Research suggests the experience of fathers and partners differ from mothers while their baby is in the neonatal unit.
Fathers and partners have told us that they often feel scared, confused and overwhelmed following the birth of their baby and not sure the best way to support their partner and baby.
Some things you can do include:
- Help your partner – washing their expressing equipment, make dinner, encourage them to rest.
- Cuddle your baby – talk to the nurses about the best time for this.
- Read a book to your baby – we have library of book you can borrow at KEMH and PCH
- Change your baby’s nappy and do their cares – the nurses are happy to help you if you feel anxious at first!
- Feed your baby – this can be learning to hold the feeding tube or once your baby is well enough feeding them a bottle.
- Meet other dads and partners – there is a group run at KEMH every fortnight on Mondays between 5 to 6pm called Dads in the Neonatal Unit. It is facilitated by a male nurse or doctor and is a place to meet other Dads with topics including what to expect along the NICU journey, how to bond with your baby and building your confidence as a Dad.
There are many other places to receive support
- Visit your GP to access a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan. This will enable you access to psychological services eligible for Medicare rebate in your area.
- SMS4dads – Info & Tips for New Dads | Receive free text messages, support, info & tips – especially for dads & dads-to-be
- SMS4dads – Deadly Dads | If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you’re sent a unique set of messages designed especially for First Nations dads
- NICU Dads Messages – SMS4dads | Special messages for dads with a baby/babies in the NICU, including a video
- DadSpace | Supports the mental and emotional well-being of dads who are expecting or just welcomed a baby into their life.
- MensLine Australia | A free telephone and online counselling service offering support for Australian men anywhere, anytime.
Common procedures
Blood gas: A blood test performed to measure the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, acid and glucose in the blood.
Echocardiogram (ECHO): An ultrasound examination to study the heart.
Eye screening (Retcam): An eye test to look for Retinopathy of Prematurity which is abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye, seen in preterm babies.
Hearing test: All babies will have their hearing tested prior to discharge home.
Head scan/ultrasound: An ultrasound takes a picture using soundwaves. It is routinely done to look for bleeding in the fluid spaces (ventricles) of the brain.
Newborn bloodspot screening test: Also referred to as the Guthrie test, it is a blood test that checks for serious hereditary disorders.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): An imaging technique that gives a very detailed picture of tissue that may be difficult to see on an ultrasound or X-ray.
X-Ray: Taken to provide pictures of a baby’s lungs, especially if they are on respiratory support. Also used to check for problems in the abdomen, bone structure and to ensure that tubes and intravenous lines are in the correct position.
Clinical Terminology
Apnoea: A temporary pause in breathing lasting 15 seconds or more.
Anaemia: Where the body has a lower than normal level of red blood cells (or haemoglobin) in the blood.
Antibiotics: Medications given to treat a bacterial infection.
Bradycardia (brady): A low heart rate below 100 beats per minute.
Cardiac monitor: Provides a measurement a baby’s heart rate and breathing rate. Three sticky dots are placed on the body and connected via a lead to the monitor.
Chest tube/drain: A flexible plastic tube inserted into the chest wall to remove trapped air or fluid and allow lungs to re-expand.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): Two prongs are placed in the baby’s nose and a continuous amount of heated, humidified air and /or oxygen is given with a small amount of pressure. This helps keeps the air sacs in the baby’s lungs open and reduces the amount of effort it takes to breathe.
Desaturation (desat): A drop in the oxygen level in the blood.
Endotracheal tube (ETT): A tube inserted through the mouth or nose and into the baby’s trachea. It is connected to a ventilator to assist with breathing.
Hernia: Occurs when a section of the intestine protrudes through a weakness in the abdominal muscles. It is usually seen as a soft bulge underneath the skin. A hernia that occurs in the groin area is called an inguinal hernia.
Humidified Hi-Flow (HHF): The delivery of heated humidified air and/or oxygen via nasal prongs. Can be used to wean baby’s off CPAP.
Hyperglycemia: High blood sugar level.
Hypoglycemia: Low blood sugar level.
Incubator / Isolette: A bed surrounded by hard plastic that keeps preterm babies warm until they are able to maintain their own body temperature.
Jaundice: Yellow colouring of the skin caused by excess bilirubin (a product released from red blood cells) in the blood.
High frequency jet ventilator: A type of ventilator that delivers hundreds of tiny breaths per minute, keeping the lungs inflated and allowing the baby to take their own larger breaths.
Lipids: An intravenous solution given to babies via a small tube inserted into a baby's vein. Contains fats and vitamins to assist with growth and development.
Long line: A thin tube inserted into a vein (either in the arm or leg) and threaded into a larger vein close to the heart to give fluids and medications.
Low-flow oxygen: The delivery of oxygen to a baby with a stable ongoing oxygen requirement via nasal prongs who no longer requires humidified high flow oxygen therapy (HHF) or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
Nasogastric / Orogastric Tube (NGT/OGT): A thin, flexible tube which goes into the baby’s mouth or nostril and into their stomach. It is used to feed baby’s milk if they are too young to suck from the breast or bottle.
Open cot: Once a baby is able to maintain its own temperature independently and does not require an incubator they will be moved into a cot.
Peripheral Intravenous Cannula (PIVC): A small tube is inserted into a vein (usually in the hand, arm or foot) to give fluids or medications.
Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA): A common finding in preterm babies when a foetal blood vessel (ductus arteriosus) connecting two main arteries leaving the heart doesn’t close after birth. This is often treated with medication.
Pasteurised Donor Human Milk (PDHM): Donated expressed breast milk that is screened for viruses, pasteurised and microbiologically tested and given to babies that meet the set criteria where their mother’s own milk is not available.
Phototherapy: A light used to treat jaundice by lowering the bilirubin level in the blood.
Prone: Describes the position of a baby when lying on their front.
Pulse oximeter/oxygen saturation probe: Provides a measurement of the amount of oxygen in the baby’s bloodstream. The probe is usually attached to the foot or hand and has a red light.
Supine: Describes the position of a baby lying on their back.
Surfactant: A substance that coats the inside of the lungs and stops the small air sacs sticking together. Premature babies often don't have enough of their own so an artificial surfactant can be given into their lungs to help them breathe.
Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN): An intravenous fluid given to babies that are unable to have milk. It has glucose, amino acids and electrolytes to assist with growth and development.
Ventilator: A machine which connects to the breathing tube or endotracheal tube (ETT) and assists the baby in taking breaths. Air and/or oxygen is given to inflate a baby's lungs at a regular rate.
Umbilical Arterial Catheter (UAC): A thin tube inserted into the artery of the belly button (umbilical cord). Used to take blood samples and for continuous blood pressure monitoring.
Umbilical Venous Catheter (UVC): A thin tube inserted in the vein of the belly button (umbilical cord) to give fluids and medications.