This section of our website is designed to provide NICU families
with information they may find useful during and after their child’s/children’s
stay in the NICU at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Much of
the content is developed by the Family Advisory Council – a
group of parents who have had babies in the NICU just like you.
Today, they volunteer their time to try to help improve the NICU
for families. They meet monthly to discuss ideas and are always
looking for recent graduate parents to share their experiences
and suggestions.
 To learn more, please contact:
Eileen Steffen
NICU Quality & Research Coordinator
esteffen@barnabashealth.org
973-322-5453
Hayley Hirschmann
FAC Coordinator
hhirschmann@barnabashealth.org
973-322-5453
 This handbook was created to help orient
you to the NICU and the hospital. There was nothing like this for
us when our babies were here and we felt that this information
could help parents understand some of the NICU experience better
and faster.
Download
Handbook (3.40 MB PDF)
Having a baby in the NICU can be a very stressful time for families. As part of the NICU’s Family-Centered Care approach, we want to help you take care of the needs of your older children with baby brothers or sisters in our NICU. To help, members of the NICU social work team and Child Life Services offer a NICU Sibling Group for children of all ages. In addition, the NICU Family Advisory Council developed a coloring/activity book to be used during the Sibling Group and a Parent Guide to Sibling Adjustment in the NICU to help parents deal with their other children at home.
Interview with Jennifer Barreiro, MSW, LSW, (NICU Social Worker) and Danielle Martello, BA, CCLS (Certified Child Life Specialist)
A: Jennifer: We designed the group to be educational and to provide as much information as possible about the NICU to make it less scary and easier to understand for the siblings. Also, the group helps facilitate discussions and understanding along the entire family to address questions, concerns and feelings. Working closely with the Child Life Department, we designed a picture book/guide to show real-life images of the NICU and some of the common equipment in the NICU. This allows siblings to see what it looks like in the NICU so that those who can visit will be prepared and those who cannot visit (because they are not old enough or not immunized) understand where the parents and families go to see the baby.
A: Danielle: Visiting a new baby brother or sister is a HUGE highlight in any family’s life. This is specifically important for older siblings, because they are able to meet and get to know a brand new person that will be a part of their family. However, when the new baby brother or sister is admitted into the NICU, there are often additional questions, fears and concerns. Child Life Specialists have training and experience in helping families with these sibling issues. We act as a member of the family-centered care approach and are there to enhance positive coping in the NICU. The child life specialist helps provide age appropriate preparation for the sibling’s visit, using a photo book, a teaching (baby) doll that represents a NICU infant, an activity book, age appropriate language and practical activities. The specialist attempts to clear up any questions or confusion and create a sense of understanding and comfort. Together with the social worker, this group creates an educational, interactive and supportive experience for siblings and parents in the NICU.
A: Jennifer: Try to include your other children in the NICU experience. Talk to them about how the baby is doing. Keep it simple and age appropriate by using words they can understand. It can also help to provide examples whenever possible. There are also some story books that can help with the discussions and educate about the NICU. We have several of them for you to look at or use while you are here, in the NICU family library. Show the sibling pictures and let them ask questions and make observations. Also, parents can utilize art and play to help initiate a conversation about the baby in the NICU. i.e Draw a family picture together, ask the sibling to write a story about the family or write something to the baby and read it together. Another suggestion would be to reassure the sibling that he/she did nothing wrong and in no way are they responsible for the baby in the hospital.
Often, the period following the birth of a premature infant can be a stressful time for parents that brings with it many unique questions and concerns. To help, Saint Barnabas Medical Center offers a Family Resource Center within its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The NICU Family Resource Center at Saint Barnabas provides an inviting, comfortable space where parents and families with babies in the NICU can relax, reflect and access current, high-quality resources in support of their health information needs.
The idea came from the hospital’s Family Advisory Council, a concerned group of volunteer parents who had children in the Saint Barnabas NICU. Their hope it to use their firsthand knowledge to helps future NICU families. Funding was provided, in part, by The Livingston Sunrise Rotary and Saint Barnabas Medical Center Community Advocates.
“Nothing makes having a baby in the NICU easy,” said Hayley Hirschmann, coordinator of the Family Advisory Council, whose own daughter was delivered three months prematurely and spent 96 days in NICU at Saint Barnabas. “But, we’re trying to make it a little easier by sharing our experiences.”
 The Center’s design includes three separate areas for NICU parents, family members and other visitors. A Family Resource Library has books and pamphlets on many NICU issues like prematurity and breastfeeding and is equipped with computers and wireless internet access. A Family Lounge offers a relaxation space with a television and comfortable seating. The Family Room, which is separated from the lounge by a sliding wall, has many uses including a site for parent education classes and family trainings or a place to eat.
“Many of our NICU babies need to remain in the hospital to receive special care for weeks and months,” explains Eileen Steffen, R.N., NICU quality and research coordinator and co-coordinator of the Family Advisory Council. “The Center provides a place to help support families during the initial adjustment and when they come to the hospital to spend time with their baby.
Ms. Hirschmann says that parents use the areas for all sorts of things. It gives families a comfortable place to wait while their NICU baby is in surgery, working parents an opportunity to check emails and older children a space to do homework. The Center also has lockers to keep personal items in while families spend time with their baby in the NICU.
Learn where to get information about choosing and using a car
seat. Read more.
View our NICU Family Newsletters that are available to download.
Learn more.
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