Why do we massage? The benefits include: Improved weight gain Improved respiratory function Decreased length of stay Improved parent/infant interaction Improved sleep patterns Improved long-range behavioral and developmental testing scores Improved joint mobility Improved gastrointestinal function (regular bowel movement) What kinds of oils should I use? In the NICU, you can use either Aquaphor or A&D Ointment At home, you can also use cold-pressed oils (coconut, sesame, safflower, grape seed oils) Aquaphor and cold-pressed oils can be absorbed by the body without clogging pores Do NOT ..read more

We understand that religion and spirituality are very important for healing and hope during times of illness. We are here to spiritually help your family in any way that we can. Encourage siblings and other family members to share and discuss feelings and questions related to spirituality and your baby. This may include feelings about suffering, illness, death and dying, a higher power, and the afterlife. Talk with siblings and other family members about ways to deal with their feelings about your babies’ illness. Arrange for any religious or spiritual practices or rituals (e.g., baptism, mus ..read more

Ask if your baby can receive Music Therapy. A NICU Music Therapist is trained to change noise into comforting sounds. This can bring relief from pain and a chance for self-expression as well as build positive memories for your baby and family. It is good to sing to your baby. Your voice is a powerful tool for letting your baby feel safe and heard. Play music that is special to you and your family, “songs of kin.” Your baby has been listening to these songs since he or she was in the womb. The post Music Therapy for the Infant Receiving Comfort Care appeared first on CHOC - Children's health ..read more

Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) have many machines and monitors for the unique needs of your baby. Here are some of the equipment alarms that you may see or hear in the NICU: Heart or Cardiorespiratory Monitor This shows a baby’s heartbeat and breathing patterns. Wires from the monitor are attached to sticky patches called leads. These leads are placed on the baby’s chest and stomach. This monitor will beep if the heart rate or breathing rate is high or low. Normal heart rate is 120-160 beats per minute. Heart rate varies with age and can change with the baby’s activity (crying, eating ..read more

When Megan and Levi Heacock found out they were expecting twin boys, they were overcome with joy.   “You come in, planning for a baby, then, come find out it is babies, plural; It was a beautiful surprise,” as Megan recalls, alongside a perfectly healthy, normal pregnancy.  However, in the middle of the night after just barely reaching 22 weeks and 6 days, Megan was unexpectedly rushed to her local hospital. There, she and Levi learned that she had a placental abruption; their boys needed to be delivered that day.   After Megan’s emergent delivery, the boys were immedi ..read more

When Damian was born, he was more than a one in a million; he was one in 5.5 million. Now, at seven months old, he’s even more unique. “He’s a miracle,” says his mother, Ashley. Damian was born with the extremely rare congenital heart condition of ectopia cordis – Latin for “out of place heart.” Lacking the typical coverage of a breastbone, about 20 percent of Damian’s heart, covered only by a thin layer of a visceral membrane, protrudes outside his chest. The survival rate of ectopia cordis is around 10 percent, with most instances of the condition resulting in a stillbirth; most newborns who ..read more

May is National Better Speech and Hearing Month, which is a month that recognizes and raises awareness about communication disorders and the speech therapists that provide life-altering treatment to patients.   Many people think that speech therapists only work on speech production and language skills, but that is only one part of what speech therapists provide. They also provide aid to patients with feeding challenges. At CHOC’s speech and language pathology program, speech therapists are active in all inpatient and outpatient settings, focusing on cognitive play skills; higher-level cog ..read more

For years, even before they got married, Ray and Liza Soto knew they wanted a child. They tried, but to no avail. Then, at last, the Sotos, now married for five years, learned they were going to have a baby. A boy they would name Freddy. Alas, at around the end of Liza’s first trimester following a routine checkup, her local doctor delivered devastating news. “We found a mass in your baby’s chest,” he said. “That shook us to our core,” Ray recalls. Follow-up visits revealed the mass had grown. “They were telling us we could abort him – basically, that he had no chance,” Ray says. The Sotos wou ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing when Kristina Cevallos found out she was pregnant with her second child — a boy. But, at 27 weeks, she was hospitalized with COVID-19. Five weeks later, her son was born prematurely at 33 weeks—weighing 3 pounds, 3 ounces. He was cared for at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at CHOC.   While this could have been a dire situation for the family, the swift, comprehensive and compassionate care that CHOC provided made all the difference. Her son, Alexander, is now healthy and thriving. Paul, Athena, Alexander and Kristina All kinds of thoughts w ..read more

Dr. Michael Muhonen clearly remembers that day in the pediatric intensive care unit 24 years ago. The neurosurgeon, who had started his pediatric neurological practice at CHOC only a year earlier, recalls talking to the father of the baby born with what essentially was a traumatic brain injury. The infant boy, born at 23 weeks gestation and weighing 3 pounds, suffered an intraventricular hemorrhage – bleeding inside and around the ventricles, the spaces in the brain containing the cerebrospinal fluid. It was a grade-four bleed — the worst. Dr. Muhonen gave the boy an 80-percent chance of havi ..read more