NICU is an intensive care unit, which takes care of premature or newborn ill babies. It generally refers to the initial 28 days of the baby being born. It has been in service since 1960.
This very problem with premature babies is no new. In the 17th and 18th century some articles have been published on this very matter. But only after 1922, hospitals and doctors started gathering ill and premature babies together in one place for specific care. Which is now known as, NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)?
Hospitals & doctors started to give importance to the newborn and immature babies from 18th centuries, but still, this specific care for a newborn was mostly in the hands of Midwives and mothers. Similar to chick hatching incubators were used in the 19th century, but later on 1931 Dr. A Robert Bauer MD brought ease and accessibility in baby nursing. Mostly after the Second World War, special baby nursing units became prominent.
From the year of 1970’s intensive baby care units became regular parts of hospitals worldwide. By 1980’s babies are born in hospitals, not by midwives anymore.
There are four levels the NICU works
Stage I: It consists a constant caring of the newborn baby. Generally, the healthy babies are kept with their mothers and being discharged as soon as possible.
Stage II: In this level, the premature baby, needs definite special care from the nurses of NICU. Usually, the babies need more time before they get released from the hospital.
Stage III: This stage is critical enough where the babies are at high-risk level, so they need breathing and feeding devices for them. 90 percent of the nurses are from this part of NICU.
Stage IV: It requires all the previous three-level cares, but this is more critical level, where neonatologists have to take care of the baby 24 hours basis. Some procedures can also be done at this stage for the baby, needs physical repairs, like cardiac problems and some malformations too.
The rate of survival of neonates has been increased by the discovery of oxygen usage for the premature babies in advanced Maternity Hospital in Kolkata. Devices looked like metal forks were initially used in the early stages, but now it has been replaced with thin tubes of plastic through the nostrils.
The very first ventilation system was applied to a baby that was in 1961, which was a risk worthy procedure at that time, but after 1971, the procedures have changed to more safer grounds.
Nowadays, babies been taken care of with several monitoring system indicators attached to their body, so, the baby’s improvement to health can be measured easily with alarm systems at Maternity Hospital.
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