New Born Care Unit ( Part1)

 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU  is known as New Born Care Unit , is a Special Baby Care Unit , for premature new born infant . 

Firstly it is introduced by Louis Gluck nearly about 1960s at the American hospital Yale New Haven Hospital .

Increasing technology

By the 1970s, NICUs were an established part of hospitals in the developed world. In Britain, some early units ran community programmes, sending experienced nurses to help care for premature babies at home. But increasingly technological monitoring and therapy meant special care for babies became hospital-based. By the 1980s, over 90% of births took place in hospital. The emergency dash from home to the NICU with baby in a transport incubator had become a thing of the past, though transport incubators were still needed. Specialist equipment and expertise were not available at every hospital, and strong arguments were made for large, centralised NICUs. On the downside was the long travelling time for frail babies and for parents. A 1979 study showed that 20% of babies in NICUs for up to a week were never visited by either parent. Centralised or not, by the 1980s few questioned the role of NICUs in saving babies. Around 80% of babies born weighing less than 1.5 kg now survived, compared to around 40% in the 1960s. From 1982, pediatricians in Britain could train and qualify in the sub-specialty of neonatal medicine .

Equipment

Incubator

an apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for a neonate . Blood pressure monitor: The blood pressure monitor is a machine that's connected to a small cuff which wrapped around the arm or leg of the patient. This cuff automatically takes the blood pressure and displays the data for review by providers.

Oxygen hood: This is a clear box that fits over the baby's head and supplies oxygen. This is used for babies who can still breathe but need some respiratory support.

Ventilator: This is a breathing machine that delivers air to the lungs. Babies who are severely ill will receive this intervention. Typically, the ventilator takes the role of the lungs while treatment is administered to improve lung and circulatory function.

functions of a neonatal incubator are:

• Oxygenation, through oxygen supplementation by head hood or nasal cannula, or even continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or mechanical ventilation. Infant respiratory distress syndrome is the leading cause of death in preterm infants, and the main treatments are CPAP, in addition to administering pulmonary surfactant and stabilizing the blood sugar, blood salts, and blood pressure.
• Observation: Modern neonatal intensive care involves sophisticated measurement of temperature, respiration, cardiac function, oxygenation, and brain activity.
• Protection from cold temperature, infection, noise, drafts and excess handling:Incubators may be described as bassinets enclosed in plastic, with climate control equipment designed to keep them warm and limit their exposure to germs.
• Provision of nutrition, through intravenous catheter or NG tube.
• Administration of medications.
• Maintaining fluid balance by providing fluid and keeping a high air humidity to prevent too great a loss from skin and respiratory evaporation

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