Contributing to Advancements in NICU Care
Contributing to Advancements in NICU Care
As we celebrate NICU awareness month in September, let's take a look at neonatal trends over the ages in mortality, causes of neonatal death and how the locus of care is changing.
As we see in the infographic, there has been a steady drop in infant mortality in Europe and the Americas in the past decades. However, it is of concern that the main causes of mortality during the first 27 days are prematurity, infections, and intra-birth causes such as lack of oxygen and birth trauma. The majority of neonatal deaths, about 75%, occur in the first week. 25% to 45% occur during the first 24 hours.
Today, the focus of neonatal care is steadily shifting from just the baby to including the entire family in the premature infant's early precarious days. It is difficult to believe that there was a time before the industrial revolution when premature and ill infants were born and cared for at home. They usually died without medical intervention in a few days or weeks. From the time that Etienne Stephane Tarnier, a French obstetrician, adapted poultry incubators to premature infants and Martin Couney, a German neonatologist, helped popularize incubators, today Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) are moving back to coupling care by rejoining mothers and baby through redesigned units with Single Family Rooms (SFRs) or movable incubators.
With the advancement of NICU technology and a better understanding of the neonatal environment, more NICU infants can expect to survive the early precarious days and grow into healthy thriving adults. However, these advances are restricted to developed economies. The majority of newborn deaths still take place in developing countries. Access to health care is low and most die at home without skilled care.
Even as better health care for preemies has contributed to a drop in infant mortality, there is still a lot more to do. As we move towards a better understanding of the requirements of neonates, their families, and their caretakers, it is very important to be aware of NICU innovation and contribute to solutions. Neonatal care companies like Chiesi are realizing the importance of including all stakeholders in an open discussion. We at Baby Living Lab, in our commitment to innovation in neonatal care, will celebrate NICU awareness month by bringing you NICU updates on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We invite you to actively contribute to the narrative around NICUs and be a part of a community that can make a difference for neonatal infants.
