A comprehensive assessment of feeding performance of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) includes not only the traditional approaches of evaluating oral motor control and sensory responses but also evaluation of other factors. Infant feeding is a highly complex and integrated process involving numerous body systems. A global assessment would determine the infant's feeding functio...

Descriptive statistics for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale summary scores are provided based on data from 1388 1-month-old infants in the Maternal Lifestyle Study (MLS) of prenatal drug exposure and child outcome. The multisite MLS is described, followed by tables with descriptive statistics and percentile for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavior...

BACKGROUND With the development of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), new issues have emerged for physicians working in this area, including the ethical aspects of providing invasive and advanced care to neonates with extremely poor prognosis. This research was undertaken with the aim of investing the factors affecting physicians' practice in management of newborns in such complicated circu...

This study compared the balance between effort (E) and reward (R) among physicians and nurses working in pediatric (PED) and neonatal (NEO) Intensive Care Units. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 37 physicians and 20 nurses. The Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire was used. Statistically significant differences were not found among physicians (p>0.05) or nurses from ...

While hospitalized in neonatal units, preterm infants undergo various manipulations and procedures that have negative health consequences. The aim of this study was to describe the manipulations that preterm infants are subjected to over a 24-hour period in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). An observational, descriptive, exploratory study was conducted with 20 preterm infants who were film...

A new practice framework for clinicians has recently been issued by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health through their Ethics Advisory Committee. It deals with babies and children for whom intensive treatment may not be in their best interest. These are diYcult cases. Absolute certainty is rarely possible; there are inevitably issues of conscience and conflict, which add to the bur...

Sensory intervention, one aspect in the occupational therapy treatment of the high-risk, preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is discussed. Normal deviations in the healthy preterm baby's development at the equivalent age of the full-term baby are identified as a basis for intervention. Environmental factors affecting the preterm infant's interactions and therapeutic needs...

When parents voice their dissatisfaction with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), it is often not because they think their baby has not received good medical care. Instead, it is often because their needs have not been addressed. Policy statements and pedagogy alike urge professionals to be empathetic, compassionate, honest, and caring. However, these theoretical concepts are generally end...

The author draws on narratives as an illustration of embodied knowledge and argues for the importance of using embodied knowing to inform ethical decisions in the neonatal setting. Nurses have a unique perspective of the complex care associated with neonatal intensive care (NIC). NIC nurses listen to parent's stories and share their own practice stories, leading to an intimate appreciation of a...