Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Articles A Christmas Baby Benefits from the NICU While many Christians were celebrating the Christmas season by recalling the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, another Mary and Joseph were welcoming a child into the world on December 28, 1999. Unfortunately, for Mary and Joseph Spiteri of Franklin, NJ, this birth was not supposed to have taken place until February. A sudden bout of bleeding in the middle of the night caused Mary to phone her obstetrician who told her to come to the hospital immediately. Unbeknownst to the couple as they raced to Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Mrs. Spiteri was experiencing both placental abruption and preecclamsia, conditions dangerous to both mother and unborn baby. At the Medical Center, the baby’s heart rate showed a significant drop and physicians determined that an emergency cesarean section was needed. During the procedure, a team from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was at the bedside, prepared to usher the newborn into the specialized unit for premature and sick babies. At 3:16 a.m., baby Kaylee Spiteri was delivered nine weeks early weighing only 2 pounds 13.8 ounces. “They were right there waiting for her,” says Mrs. Spiteri of the NICU team. “As shocked as we were, with so many questions about her weight and her health, they made us feel comfortable immediately.” The couple never thought of a NICU as a necessity because Mrs. Spiteri’s pregnancy had progressed without complication prior to the sudden health problems. In retrospect, they were pleased to have chosen Saint Barnabas because it is a Level III Regional Perinatal Center, the highest designation attainable by the New Jersey State Department of Health. The 50-bed NICU is the centerpiece of the pediatric component. “Since our experience, I tell everyone that is expecting a child to be conscious of whether or not the hospital they choose is equipped to care for premature babies,” adds Mr. Spiteri. “We put our trust in the NICU staff and they guided us through everything with so much patience and attention.” The NICU at Saint Barnabas treats premature babies born at less than 34 weeks gestation, as well as full term infants with special needs. The average baby in the NICU was carried to between 24 to 36 weeks, although the unit has cared for infants born at only 23 weeks. The NICU treats many multiple birth babies, twins, triplets and occasionally quadruplets, as they have a greater chance of premature birth. The NICU staff, which includes neonatologists and neonatal intensive care nurses, is always ready to transport infants to this specialized unit. Unlike most large medical centers where residents care for premature infants, the NICU at Saint Barnabas has only board-certified neonatologists attending to young patients at all times of the day or night. “I tell parents that this is a very stressful time and that no one wants to deliver prematurely,” says Teresa Stec, M.D., neonatologist. “It does comfort them to know that, given the circumstances, this is the best possible place for their baby.” Waiting for the day when an infant can leave the NICU may seem endless at times, but parents with newborns at Saint Barnabas make their baby’s NICU environment a home away from home. Through the loving attention of staff and family members, NICU babies receive comfort and care while they take each day one baby step at a time. As they prepared to take baby Kaylee home from the NICU, the Spiteri family recalled the NICU bulletin board filled with Halloween and Christmas photos of babies who had once been in the unit. “Seeing all those happy, healthy faces made me think if they can do it, our daughter can too,” says Mrs. Spiteri. [ top ] [ Back to Article Index ] |
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