Level 1 support strategies
Levels 2 and 3 support strategies
Thankfully most babies who spend time in the intensive care nursery are there for only a few hours or a few days at most. Some babies (usually premature) will spend up to a few weeks or a few months, growing and recovering. This means that the mother will be discharged home from the hospital long before the baby is.
Having your baby in the nursery for an extended period usually means the parents spending long hours visiting, sleepless nights watching and waiting if the baby is unwell and going back and forth daily from home to the hospital. It may be that they need to stay in a hotel, or with friends or relatives (or sometimes hospital accommodation) if the baby has been transferred to a major hospital, far away from where they live. Usually the hospital will try and send the baby back to the local hospital once they are well enough to leave. Juggling your care and attention with other children can be difficult for everyone concerned. Including siblings when seeing the baby and explaining things when you can, will help them come to terms with what you are all going through.
The mother can sometimes feed their baby (if the baby is well enough) or help tube feed the baby if they are having this. If breastfeeding, she will need to express milk at the hospital and while at home (often the hospital will organise the hire of an electric breast pump for this) to give the baby milk as needed and keep her supply up for when the baby is well enough to fully breastfeed.
Having a baby in the nursery can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Feelings of sadness will often surface, as you have to go back home day after day 'empty handed'.
When the day arrives to take your baby home it can bring a range of emotions. Parents can often feel both excited and scared. Excited with finally bringing their baby home, but scared because the back up of professional staff is no longer there.