Family Integrated Care

A black line illustration of a pair of hands, containing three gender neutral people, to represent a family unit, with a heart at the centre

The CAHs Neonatology team is committed to providing high quality family-integrated care (FICare).

The goals of FICare are to:

  • support the partnership between parents and staff
  • promote parent-baby interactions
  • build parent confidence

FICare places parents at the centre of caregiving for their baby and strives to:

  • ensure parents are involved in the decision making and care for their baby
  • empower parents to participate in their baby’s care by providing learning opportunities for care such as mouth-care, cleaning, washing, feeding and kangaroo-care
  • promote the parent-baby bond
  • prepare families for discharge

Parenting in the Neonatal Unit

We encourage and support you to participate in decision making and in caring for your baby from the beginning of their stay in neonatal unit.

You are welcome to touch, stroke and talk to your baby.

The bedside nurse will help you learn to care for your baby while they are in the neonatal unit. This includes changing their nappy, feeding and holding your baby.

Please talk to your baby’s nurse each day about the best time to hold or cuddle your baby.

As partners with the healthcare team we encourage you to attend and contribute to daily ward rounds where plans and goals for your baby are discussed.

The best way to care for your baby is to be with them at the hospital as often as possible. If you are unable to come in, please phone us for an update so we can tell you about their day. Let us know to best way we can help you and your family in providing the best care for your baby.

Find out more about what you can do in the neonatal unit

Last Updated: 24/05/2024