In the NICU, parents are often forced with the difficult challenge of not being able to touch their baby. This could be for many reasons, including extreme prematurity, sensitivity precautions, and other medical related reasonings.
The NICU nurse or doctor may ask parents not to touch their baby because any form of touch or contact could possibly irritate or create unwanted stimulation for the infant. In the case of prematurity, everything inside a baby’s body is extremely sensitive and much more susceptible to negative effects of too much contact and handling.
Were the preterm infant still inside his or her mother’s uterus, there would be a nice cushion and comfortable area to nestle into, safe from harm and outside contact. But once the baby is born, he or she is forced into surroundings that are much more likely to irritate or possibly harm their tiny bodies.
For example, a preterm baby that is on a ventilator or oscillator, as well as having a head bleed, needs to be touched as little as possible. Too much contact could irritate the head bleed, as well as possibly disturbing the tube helping the baby breathe.
What to do as a Parent
If you are a parent in this situation, it is going to be one of the hardest things you will face in the NICU…not being able to touch and hold your baby. Especially for mothers, whose bond with their precious little ones is so very strong from carrying them in pregnancy.
Neonatal staff and doctors are fully aware of the need for parents to physically bond with their baby, and will accommodate this need as much as possible. Many times, kangaroo care is possible if the infant is deemed capable of tolerating the transition from incubator to parent.
Parents wishing to touch or hold their baby should talk with the NICU staff about what kind of touching and how much contact is appropriate. Small things like letting infants hold thier parent’s fingers is a popular method of establishing parent to baby contact. The NICU staff will try to allow parents as much contact as possible, but they have to keep the baby’s best interests in mind as well.
While there is no time frame for how long infants in the NICU who need little to no stimulation need to go without contact, usually as the infant gets better and grows, the more opportunities there will be to touch and hold the baby.
As a parent, keep communication clear and open to the NICU staff. The more a NICU nurse or doctor knows about the parents’ desires, the more they can not only care for the baby, but the parents as well in this difficult time.
