NICU Blog

NICU Music Therapy

You’ve made it anxiously through your pregnancy, waiting for the “big day” and dreaming about how the delivery would go. Perhaps you and your partner even made a birthplan, communicating your very personal wishes to the medical team about how you wanted to welcome your baby into the world and help him/her adjust to this new life.

The NICU is a scary place. Some are too brightly lit and incredibly noisy, with alarms and voices bouncing around the hard walls. Others are so dark it’s hard to see, and you’re afraid to speak above a whisper. Either way, the environment is abnormal and only heightens your discomfort and uncertainty. You don’t feel well already – after all, you did just have a baby!

The many different faces you may see at your baby’s bedside can be confusing, as can be the different roles each one plays. NICU care involves a large team of professionals, each with a specific function. Don’t EVER be afraid to ask someone to introduce themselves (again) and explain his/her role on the care team! Here is a brief description of the typical members of the care team:

Historical Aspects and Risk Factors: Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), formerly known as Retrolental Fibroplasia (RLF), was first described in 1942. (1) It is a disease of preterm infants with the most premature being at the highest risk of disease occurrence. Campbell in 19512first suggested that oxygen might play a role in the development of ROP and subsequent studies throughout the 1950’s 3, 4, 5 confirmed the adverse effects of oxygen therapy on the developing retinal vessels of premature infants. As it is believed that a fully vascularized retina is not prone to the harmful effects of increased oxygen concentrations to which an infant is exposed, it is rare for a full term newborn(> 37 weeks gestation) to be diagnosed with ROP.

With the birth of a new baby, it’s natural for you to want to jump in and begin to care for your baby. The new mom wants to “be a mom” and the new dad has an overwhelming desire to “take care of” his new family – both mother as she recovers from pregnancy/childbirth and his new baby. When that baby is in the NICU, the progression into parenthood is disrupted – you very likely may be confused and uncertain about your role, feel somewhat “out of control” and wonder what can you do to help and care for your baby. This Is Completely Understandable! Regardless of your baby’s condition, there are ways you can be involved in his/her care, and the NICU staff wants to help you be as involved as you want to be.

Embryology: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is the result of a failure of the diaphragm (the muscle of respiration) to form normally in utero between the 8th and 10th week of gestation.  The diaphragm is not only the muscle of respiration but it also separates the chest cavity (lungs and heart) from the abdominal cavity (stomach, intestines, liver, spleen). With this defect in the diaphragm, the abdominal contents can make their way (herniate) into the chest cavity at the critical time when the lungs are developing. The resultant “lung hypoplasia” can cause severe respiratory compromise.