Resources for parents with a baby in the NICU

Neonatologist Philippe Friedlich, MD, shares advice for parents with a baby in the NICU on the best and most helpful resources to assist them in overcoming the challenges faced during this difficult time
Best Resources For Parents WIth A Baby In The NICU
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Resources for parents with a baby in the NICU

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There are many resources that are at your disposition when your child is admitted into the NICU. Obviously your doctor and your nurse will always be at your bedside. But you must use some of the other resources. For example, social worker is assigned to each patient in the NICU. That person has a wealth of information and may be very useful to you. Sometimes it's about completing some health insurance paperwork, or a place to stay, or how to best handle the information to your friends. Other health care providers are also very important. For example your physical therapist or occupational therapist may be quite involved in the care of your baby. And they provide you some information on how to best handle your baby or how to, for example, touch your baby at times. Sometimes there are needs to get more information about breast feeding. Many hospitals have lactation specialists that can provide you with information on how to breast feed or store your milk if your baby is not ready to breast feed. There are also some respiratory therapists that can provide you with some information on how your baby's breathing machine, for example, may be cared for. You can gain some information. By all means, use all the information and the people that are caring for your baby to gain more information. The more knowledge you have, the better informed you are, the better and easier the decisions you will have to make for your baby will be.

Neonatologist Philippe Friedlich, MD, shares advice for parents with a baby in the NICU on the best and most helpful resources to assist them in overcoming the challenges faced during this difficult time

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Philippe Friedlich, MD

Neonatologist

Philippe Friedlich, MD, MS Epi, MBA is the Associate Director and Division Chief of the Center for Fetal and Neonatal Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, as well as the Medical Director of the hospital’s Newborn & Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU). Dr. Friedlich is a professor of Pediatrics and Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.   

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Transcription: 
There are many resources that are at your disposition when your child is admitted into the NICU. Obviously your doctor and your nurse will always be at your bedside. But you must use some of the other resources. For example, social worker is assigned to each patient in the NICU. That person has a wealth of information and may be very useful to you. Sometimes it's about completing some health insurance paperwork, or a place to stay, or how to best handle the information to your friends. Other health care providers are also very important. For example your physical therapist or occupational therapist may be quite involved in the care of your baby. And they provide you some information on how to best handle your baby or how to, for example, touch your baby at times. Sometimes there are needs to get more information about breast feeding. Many hospitals have lactation specialists that can provide you with information on how to breast feed or store your milk if your baby is not ready to breast feed. There are also some respiratory therapists that can provide you with some information on how your baby's breathing machine, for example, may be cared for. You can gain some information. By all means, use all the information and the people that are caring for your baby to gain more information. The more knowledge you have, the better informed you are, the better and easier the decisions you will have to make for your baby will be.