NICU Awareness Week is designed to honor families experiencing a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the health professionals who care for the them. Every year more than half a million babies are admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, otherwise known as a NICU. Babies receive care for both prenatally-diagnosed conditions and emergent health issues.
Did You Know? It’s not just preemies.
Advances in neonatal medicine mean that more infants can benefit from the specialized care that NICUs can offer. Nearly half of all babies in the NICU are born at normal birthweight and are 37 weeks gestation or older.
Caring for infants isn’t like caring for other patients; babies aren’t tiny adults. Neonatology is a highly specialized field. Providing specialized care for neonates requires expertise and teamwork.
We encourage you to join us in observing these days:
- September 26 NICU Remembrance Day
- September 27 NICU Giving Day
- September 28 NICU Staff Recognition Day
- September 29 Sibling Support Day
- September 30 Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Day
Later this week we will share the story of one of our MBFOM member families who had a long NICU journey! Stay tuned.