Most parents aren?t expecting their newborn to be admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). ?Ultimately their baby is in the NICU because either they came early or the baby is sick,? says Jeanette Doherty, a social worker who specializes in the NICU at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. ?Parents are very frightened: They?re processing a huge amount of information at once, and they also have a lot of practical needs in the background.?
That?s where friends and family come in. There?s plenty of ways to make this experience a little bit easier on them.
1. Bring food, food and more food
The new mom will likely be spending long days in the NICU, and like anyone recovering from birth, she will be hungry. Hospital cafeterias can get old (and expensive) pretty fast, so organize a meal train with others in her community. Bring frozen pre-prepared meals to heat up at the hospital (most have microwaves), packed lunches, healthy snacks like fruit (which can be pricey and hard to come by at some hospitals), and of course some of her favourite treats. If she?s breastfeeding or pumping, bake up a batch of lactation cookies or muffins. And don?t forget about her partner or family. If she has other kids at home, feed them too. Cooking is the last thing that she or her partner will want to do after spending a long day at the hospital. 2. Offer a ride
?Rides to the hospital were the best?it took away the worry of getting there or getting home,? says one NICU veteran, a mom of t...