Emotional Support
How do CLS create a soothing environment for families in the NICU?
By dimming the lights, playing calming music, and providing comforting items like blankets create a more peaceful for families.
How do CLS provide grief support in the NICU?
Offer a supportive presence and actively listen, validating their emotions, providing coping mechanisms, organizing heartfelt rituals, connecting families with other resources
How can NICU parents help infants cope with discomfort and pain?
Using techniques such as gentle touch & swaddling, kangaroo care, parental presence, and distraction strategies
What are some classes offered in the Family Resource Center?
Catheter care class, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Gastrostomy and Nasogastric Tube care, and parenting classes
What grief services are offered to parents?
Parent support group, newborn life planning education and medical counseling on their newborn, and couples therapy
What techniques do child life specialists teach families to help manage stress in the NICU?
Teach coping techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, and relaxation exercises.
What resources do CLS offer to families experiencing grief in the NICU?
Provide books, support groups, counseling services, and assistance in creating meaningful rituals or memorial activities.
What is kangaroo care, and how does it benefit infants in the NICU?
It encourages skin-to-skin contact between the newborn and parents, and aids in the regulation of the infant's body temperature, breathing, and heart rate, offering comfort and stability during stressful conditions.
What are some things that are provided in parent education classes?
Baby diet, swaddling, breast feeding, development of their six senses, and importance of infant touch
What grief services are offered for siblings?
Support group, educating them on their newborn sibling’s medical condition, providing grief counseling for loss and death of a sibling, and individual therapy
How does CLS advocate for the needs of families in the NICU within care plans and healthcare teams?
By advocating for families’ emotional needs and presenting the family concerns and preferences to the healthcare team
How do CLS collaborate with healthcare professionals to support families experiencing grief in the NICU?
Working with healthcare professionals to ensure that families receive full support, which includes medical treatment, emotional support, and bereavement services.
How do distraction strategies assist infants in coping with pain in the NICU?
It involves getting the baby to focus on something else using age-appropriate activities, toys, or visual stimuli, helping to divert their attention away from pain and discomfort
What are some of the physical environmental aspects offered by child life specialists in the NICU unit?
Infant playroom, Playroom and teen lounge, outdoor play yard, Family resource center
What do we provide for school reintegration?
Connection and support with school educators to help children feel at home, IEP meetings with school administration to discuss neurophysical impairment, and class visitations to educate classmates and teachers on supporting the medical conditions of our patients.