Neonatal Intensive Care

Neonatal Intensive Care

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Institution

Abstract

Neonatal intensive care is an area of interest, especially for neonatal occupational therapists. Provision of results-oriented care in the neonatal intensive care units is necessary for saving the lives of preterm infants, low-birth weight infants and neonates with special medical conditions. The current research analyzed the available literature using selected search words as relates to the topic. A minimum of four academic sources were used. A bias on the role of occupational therapists in the neonatal intensive care unit was applied. The study established that neonatal intensive care is very vital in sustaining the lives of neonates born with defects, those born before maturity, and those born with low birth weights. It also established that occupational therapists are among the members of the neonatal multidisciplinary team that play a very vital role in the delivery of care. Continued support for the intensive care units is necessary for survival of neonates with special needs.

Neonatal intensive care refers to unique care given to newborns who require special attention, or special needs. Mostly, the neonates who require special needs are born prematurely (Boxwell, 2010). Their physiology has not developed to make adjustments to enable them survive in the environment outside the mother’s womb. Prenatal guidance and therapeutic interventions aimed at the development of the premature infant are initiated in the intensive care unit by the care providers. Occupational therapy intervention is necessary for the neonatal intensive care unit to help decrease the stresses that the premature infant undergoes. In the intensive care unit, occupational therapists provide care to the neonate by enabling its vitality, physiological stability and the ability to cope with the human and physical environment. My area of interest is neonatal intensive care as I recognize the role occupational therapist play in the delivery of neonatal care.

Both neonatal, maternal and delivery factors are responsible for admission of a baby to the intensive care unit for unique neonatal intensive care. According to Boxwell (2010), most babies admitted to the unit are of low birth weights, are born premature, or suffer from a medical condition requiring special care. An example of such a condition is jaundice. Some of these conditions result from sexually transmitted diseases of the mother, bleeding, drug abuse, diabetes, too little amniotic fluid or young mothers of below 16 years (Kenner & Lott, 2013). Abnormal delivery, like meconium babies and fatally distress, may also require that a baby is admitted for neonatal intensive care. In addition, the baby may have developed seizures, has birth defects, is born prematurely or may be unable to breath.

For effective delivery of the neonatal intensive care, the units are equipped with sophisticated, technologically advanced facilities. Trained healthcare personnel are employed in the neonatal intensive care, with the skills of handling the tiniest of the patients, and to operate the sophisticated equipment. According to Kenner and Lott (2013), the advanced technological materials are in high demand in the intensive care units, since they are needed to support the respiratory system. Kenner and Lott posit that most of the premature infants suffer respiratory problems, which needs to be supported using the equipment of the latest technology. In the same line, the services of an occupational therapist are in great demand. Guthrie (1988) argues that, the occupational therapists in the neonatal intensive care unit serve to modify and adapt the stimuli to provide an appropriate environment for development, equilibrate the sleep-wake cycles and stimulate sensory modulation. The advanced equipment are very vital for these functions.

Various health professionals are employed in the neonatal intensive care units to provide neonatal intensive care. Among them are neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists, dieticians, pharmacists and occupational therapists. The occupational therapists play a vital role in the delivery of neonatal intensive care. They provide treatment in feeding and eating, facilitating the development of swallowing and sucking skills for the child (Boxwell, 2010). In addition, the occupational therapists also help to maintain the adaptive positions that encourage development and support the child. They achieve this by using sophisticated assistive devices and changing the methods of handling the neonates. Rose (2002) observes that the neonatal intensive care staff also play a big role in training and guiding parents on how to care for the neonates. In the process of care, the neonatal health workers, inclusive of neonatal occupational therapists determine the outcomes of care for the neonates.

A comprehensive, therapeutic professional intervention programme is needed for results to be achieved in the neonatal intensive care unit. Once a neonate is admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit, an initial comprehensive assessment is carried out to determine the unique needs of the neonate (Kenner & Lott, 2013). An intervention drawn is then drawn factoring the individual needs of the infant. The parents of the infants are then guided as per the specific needs of their babies. Such guidance enables the parents to participate in the care of the neonates. The treatment, as per the plan, is continued, and monitoring implemented to ensure the needs of the neonate are met. Consistency in following the plan of care ensures that the desired results of the care are achieved.

In sum, neonatal intensive care is very vital for the infants with special needs. The neonatal intensive care units are equipped with sophisticated facilities to aid in the delivery of services for the needy infants. Qualified healthcare professionals deliver high-level services through a drawn out plan of care to ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved. The occupational therapists are among the professionals of the neonatal intensive care multidisciplinary team that play a vital role in the provision of the unique services to the preterm babies.

References

Kenner, C., & Lott, J. (2013). Comprehensive neonatal nursing care (5th ed). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Boxwell, G. (2010). Neonatal intensive care nursing. New York, NY: Routledge.

Guthrie, R. (1988). Neonatal intensive care. London, UK: Churchill Livingstone.

Rose, M. (2002). High dependency care in the neonate. AVMA Medical & Legal Journal, 8(6), 239-240.