NICU Ventilator
A ventilator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a machine that is used to breathe for an infant when the baby is incapable breathing on its own. A ventilator simulates breaths by basically inflating and deflating the infant’s lungs.
Premature babies in particular will not have fully developed their lungs, so the baby must be placed on a respiratory breathing machine, such as a ventilator. This is considered life support.
Ventilators in the NICU will have a variety of settings and alarms, and may frequently cause uncertainty in parents who do not understand the machine. For parents with an infant on a ventilator, asking the NICU nurse what the settings for the venitilator are, and gaining an understanding of how the venitilator is affecting their baby, are all solid recommendations.
Updated: June 2011
