NICU News

As we settle in to phase one of the Brigham and Women's Recovery & Reimagining plan, NICU leadership is pleased to slightly relax the visitation policy set for the health and safety of our patients, families and staff. Please read the formal note from our Medical and Nursing Directors.

We encourage you to continue to practice safe social distancing, wearing a mask when out in public and performing good hand hygiene with soap and water or hand sanitizer.

Be well and be kind to yourself. We are here for you.

Many families are currently experiencing or are facing mounting financial concerns due to the outbreak, compounded by their baby's NICU admission. Please reach out to your NICU social worker for ways in which we can help guide you through this journey.

Mass. 2-1-1 has information on financial resources for residents of Massachusetts.

Search on-line at: https://mass211.org OR call: 211

Information is available in different languages.

The NICU at Brigham and Women's Hospital is a proud program site of the Reach Out & Read program, providing free books and resources that promote early childhood literacy. Story-time in the NICU fosters brain development, and a bond between you and your baby.

Reading together furthers language acquisition, promotes brain development, and provides an opportunity for families to build powerful, lasting bonds.

Guided Meditation by SONA DIMIDJIAN

https://www.mindful.org/a-loving-kindness-mediation-for-moms/

• We always start with loving-kindness for oneself as a mother, repeating the phrases: “May I be filled with loving-kindness. May I treat myself with kindness in good times and in hard times. May I be well and live with ease.” Then, we move to sharing that foundation of care with one’s child:
• Bring your baby to mind. If you are a mother to be, bring to your awareness your baby growing within. If you are a mother, bring your baby to mind or perhaps look at your baby in your arms, sitting or sleeping. Share this loving-kindness with your baby.
• You can say gently to yourself:
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”
  You can gently repeat these phrases over and over again.
• Hold each phrase in your attention and connect to it. As best you can, let your mind rest in the phrases.
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”
• Feel the meaning of what you are saying, yet without trying to force anything. And whenever you find your attention has wandered, it’s okay. When you recognize you’ve lost touch with the moment, you can always gently let go and begin again. No matter how long it’s been, no matter where your mind has gone, it doesn’t matter. We have a capacity to renew, to start over, to come back.
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”
  You can use your baby’s name or the phrase, “my baby”, whichever seems right to you.
• Gather all your attention behind one phrase at a time. You don’t have to try to make anything happen or fabricate or manufacture any special feeling, but rather shepherd your attention back to these phrases. Whenever you find your attention has wandered, don’t judge yourself, and be as completely present behind one phrase as you can be.
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”
• Experience this sense of being connected to your baby and inviting love and care for your baby, exactly as they are in this moment.
  “May my baby be surrounded with loving-kindness. May I respond to my baby with kindness in good times and in hard times. May my baby be well and live with ease.”

Join McLean Hospital for a free webinar series to help you and your family feel mentally balanced during these difficult times.

Webinar: Supporting Child and Teen Mental Health During a Pandemic

Right now, many families are finding themselves in a unique situation: managing children who are out of school, stuck at home, and with their lives disrupted.

On Friday, April 24, 2020, Dr. Lisa Coyne discussed supporting the mental health of K-12 students, including talking about the foundations of coping and suggesting ways to navigate the newfound social and learning environments.

https://home.mcleanhospital.org/webinar-4?hsCtaTracking=5b0dbcf1-57e4-40b5-a8e2-8f45edea5cac%7Cb22017d6-499e-4918-ab68-0f7a482061a5

Webinar: Reducing Family Anxiety and Worry About Coronavirus

On Tuesday, April 28 as Dr. Lisa Coyne discussed ways to validate fearful emotions in adults and children and how to reframe anxiety with kids to make the ups and downs of the pandemic a challenge that’s easier for them to overcome.

https://home.mcleanhospital.org/webinar-5?hsCtaTracking=bd590ac5-84a5-4195-8a3b-508cac436ae9%7Cd4549126-cbe6-49e7-9dc9-918dcb2cc811

Webinar: Frazzled Families and Overcoming Parental Burnout During COVID-19

Dr. Lisa Coyne discusses parental burnout, strategies to ease exhaustion, and ways to preserve mental health for both parents and children alike during this public health crisis.

https://home.mcleanhospital.org/webinar-7?hsCtaTracking=da7347d5-5f1f-4a0e-9aa3-2663cadf7218%7C67cf7c0d-8946-4d88-aa0c-6766ee8dfb01

Webinar: Stress, Eating, and Sleep – Self-Care During the Pandemic

Watch Dr. Chris Palmer as he explains the relationship between diet, sleep, and stress, how eating well translates to better overall mental health, and ways to better refine these habits to feel your best through COVID-19 and beyond.

https://home.mcleanhospital.org/webinar-8?hsCtaTracking=e54c90de-e832-4335-9694-938e08b81e85%7C25d0cb69-4e53-457c-90be-4d992d853c56

Have you enrolled in the My Brigham Baby app? This app allows NICU parents the ability to be better engaged in their infant’s care, gain easy access to helpful online resources, keep track of the parental care activities you do with your baby, as well as follow your child’s daily growth progress even when you cannot be present in the NICU that day.

• ask a NICU Unit Coordinator for an informational packet and consent form
• complete the form and have your babies' nurse sign the bottom
• bring completed form back to the Unit Coordinators
• Questions? email: mybrighambaby@bwh.harvard.edu

FAMILY PRESENCE POLICY:

• Please enter and exit the hospital through the lobby at 45 Francis Street to complete a health screening

• Both BANDED caregivers may visit on the same day, however, with alternating presence on the Unit.

• All visitors are to wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times while in the unit

• Green visitor sticker and parent band should be worn at all times

• Visitor should remain in the baby’s room throughout the visit

• A family eating area has been set up in the lobby, near the Unit Coordinator desk. Please enjoy your food in this designated area only, not by the bedside. A refrigerator and microwave can be found here as well.

• Both parents/banded caregivers are allowed to be present on the day of baby's discharge

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR BABY: Parents are encouraged to call at any time for information about their baby. When calling please ask to speak to the nurse caring for your baby, giving your baby’s first and last name. The unit coordinator will transfer your call directly to your nurse. If the nurse is busy caring for your baby and is not able to answer, you may need to try back again in a bit.

DISCOUNTED PARKING: Discounted parking is available for NICU parents (cost $5.00) in the garage at 80 OR 45 Francis Street. Please stop at the front desk and speak to the unit coordinators for the pink validation card.

HAND HYGIENE: Practicing good hand hygiene is an important part of your baby’s care. Please wash your hands with soap and water at the sink in the waiting area or in your baby’s room at the start of your visit; use hand sanitizer each time you enter your baby’s room and again every time prior to touching your baby. Remember to use hand sanitizer again after you touch door handles, personal or NICU objects, other persons or yourself. Please wipe your cell phone off with the sanitizing wipes prior to use.

Our Social Service team is currently staffed remotely. We remain available by phone and email during business hours to provide emotional support, information and resources to help you care for your baby during your NICU admission and help plan for when baby comes home.

Social Work

In addition to providing support and counseling, our social workers can assist families with tasks such as health insurance registration, finding a pediatrician, or locating community resources.

Alicia Katz (617) 525-8320

akatz22@partners.org

Susan Berliner, LICSW (617) 732-8403

Tuesday-Friday

sberliner@bwh.harvard.edu

Marysabel Gomez, LPC (617) 732-5419

mgomez15@bwh.harvard.edu

Family Support

Our Family Support Program is staffed by former NICU mothers. Working closely with the medical team, they help parents navigate the many emotional twists and turns that accompany the NICU journey.

Maria Conley (617) 525-8682

msconley@bwh.harvard.edu

Maria Raskind (617) 525-8682

mraskind@bwh.harvard.edu

Care Coordination

Care coordinators are nurses who complete intake assessments upon admission and can assist families in preparing for the transition home or to a specialty care nursery closer to home.

Spiritual Care

The Spiritual Care Services Department provides compassionate emotional, spiritual, and religious support as resources for healing.

(617) 732-7480

Please reference previously published newsletters for additional information and resources.

• week of April 6th - https://www.smore.com/q15vz
• week of April 13th - https://www.smore.com/1z26w
• week of April 20th - https://www.smore.com/6fhmq
• week of April 27th- https://www.smore.com/jn157
• week of May 4th - https://www.smore.com/qz69c
• week of May 18th - https://www.smore.com/u2vgn
• week of May 25th - https://www.smore.com/39u7q

Website: https://www.brighamandwomens.org/
Location: 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, USA
Phone: (617)732-5420
Facebook: facebook.com/BrighamandWomensHospital
Twitter: @BrighamWomens