What is transitional care?
Transitional care 'is an area for babies needing care
that exceeds normal routine care, which includes support
and education of that infant's parents' (British Paediatric
Association 1992).
The Transitional Care (Sara) Ward is attached to the Neonatal
Unit and cares for:
-
Healthy but preterm babies who need some special care.
-
Babies who have needed a short period on the Neonatal
Unit.
On this ward, in the early post-natal period, we care
for babies alongside their mothers. This enables her to
become the full carer for the baby, even if the baby requires
a variety of supportive measures such as tube feeding,
phototherapy (a light source to help babies overcome jaundice),
cot warmers and/or intravenous antibiotics.
I am worried that my baby might have an emergency while
I am looking after her, and I won't know what to do?
Many parents are worried that their baby might suddenly
stop breathing or 'turn blue'. For the majority of parents,
thankfully, this is an event that will never happen. It
has, however, been shown that if parents have had some basic
training in resuscitation, they cope very well should the
need arise. For this reason, the Transitional Care Service
offer resuscitation training to its parents.
Can I request this resuscitation training?
All NICU and Transitional Care parents (and supporters
such as grandparents) are encouraged to attend resuscitation
training, which can give them the confidence to deal with
emergency situations involving their babies.
Parents are welcome to attend the training more than once,
if they feel the need.
Some parents worry about taking part initially but are
usually glad once they have attended.
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