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Technology in the NICU
Technology in the NICUNarratorWhen parents first arrive in the NICU, they often encounter a lot of imposing technology surrounding theirbaby. You’re asking yourself, “What are all these scary tubes and IVs doing attached to my baby? What doesthat blinking monitor tell me about how my baby is doing?” Well, the technology in the NICU is giving the staffvaluable information about your baby’s condition, and helping to alert them to any important changes.Kara Calkins, MDThe NICU is very technically complicated and it's certainly a very scary place when you enter into the NICU.But all of that technology really has furthered the care of babies and really has a direct relationship to thepositive outcomes.Vedang Londhe, MDThere is a variety of different monitors with a lot of beeping that often goes on. And the most important thingwe tell parents is not to focus so much on the numbers or the beeping. Most of that is just information that'sreal time giving us an idea of what's happening with the baby. It monitors things such as the baby's heart rate,respiration, blood pressure sometimes. And in addition there may be other components that are involved,which can include ventilators, which may be helping to actually help the baby breathe.Kara Calkins, MDIf a baby does not require a breathing machine but still needs some extra help breathing we can often applysomething called a nasal cannula and that provides a little bit of oxygen and flow to assist them during thattime when they're having difficulty breathing.We also place IVs and what we call central lines, and those are hooked up to pumps that are placed on pullsnext to the babies, and those pumps through the lines deliver medications and fluids or nutrition to assist thebaby while they're in the NICU.NarratorMost babies start out in an isolette, a bed that keeps them warm while enabling staff to easily see them andmonitor their condition. While in the warming bed, your baby might also need a number of tubes and lines tohelp them get better.Jeannette Whitney, MD, NeonatologistThere are several wires that we put on to monitor their heart rate and their breathing, and also to monitor theirtemperature. The next thing we do is we usually put a tube down in through their mouth that goes into theirstomach, and that's a feeding tube. And that stays in there, and it's not necessarily to feed the baby initially. It'sjust to get the air off the stomach so that the stomach doesn't distend.The next kind of tube that the family may see are a breathing apparatus, and it could be an ET tube, or anendotracheal tube, and it goes into the trachea down into the lungs, or a CPAP, and those are big prongs thatgo into the nose, and they really force air into the lungs to keep them distended.NarratorWhile the baby is in the isolette, the NICU staff is controlling the temperature, light and sound so babies cansleep.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.NICU00007 EN TechnologyInTheNICU.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 2Technology in the NICUErin Hamilton Spence, MD, NeonatologistA baby who comes here who is premature does have slight difference in the way they sense the worldcompared to you and I, so we try to make it a quiet environment when they're inside the isolette. We also makeit as warm and comfortable as possible by keeping it at a certain temperature that helps them stay, what wecall thermoneutral, which just means they're just not using any calories to keep themselves warm. There are avariety of things we do to help their sight, as their eyes are so sensitive. If it's a very sick baby or a very fragilebaby who's premature then we certainly minimize the light as much as possible.NarratorAll the technology in the NICU will seem intimidating at first. But the NICU staff is there to help you understandit all.Valencia Walker, MDOne of the first things we typically do when a parent visits for the first few times is to walk them through whateverything is doing. The blue color means the oxygen saturation is good, the green color means the heart rateis good, the yellow color means the respiratory read is good in terms of the colors we see on the monitor. Andthen we just show how for the most part, those are just a lot of extra tubes and wires that aren't really hurtingthe baby, but are helping us understand how to make your baby better.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.NICU00007 EN TechnologyInTheNICU.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 2 of 2
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