Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital offers comprehensive care for preterm babies
- 07 Oct 2020
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The birth of a baby is nothing short of a miracle. The delight of a mother who has just delivered a bonnie baby knows no bounds. Unfortunately, not all babies are born without problems. Some are born premature, with respiratory problems, metabolic issues and infection.
In this respect the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit of Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital provides an all-encompassing care for critically ill babies. Its team of doctors and nurses give all the support and dedication needed for its treatment.
An Interview with Dr Agata Moscicka, NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit Consultant, goes into the details of the care unit in the hospital.
Which babies need the NICU?
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) serves babies who may experience several problems after birth, which include for example: prematurity, breathing problems, metabolic problems, infection, surgical conditions.
Who is classified as a preterm baby?
Each baby born before completing 37 weeks gestation is called Preterm. Among this group, there are babies born less than 1kg or less than 28 weeks who are called extremely preterm and also babies born between 34-36 weeks called Late Preterm.
Each hospital providing deliveries should have a very well equipped NICU with dedicated, passionate, empathetic and up-to-date trained doctors and nurses working as a team for the ill baby and the family. This is how I describe my team at Dr Sulaiman al Habib Hospital.
How big is your NICU?
Our NICU is equipped with 14 Incubators, ventilators providing all options of respiratory support, both invasive and non-invasive , High Frequency Ventilators, CPAP machines, Flow, Nitric Oxide to help critically ill babies as well as Cooling for those who need this support. We have 5 excellently skilled doctors and 21 nurses providing one-to-one nursing care. We offer isolation rooms for babies admitted from other facilities.
What are the common issues among babies admitted to the NICU?
Prematurity is a leading reason for NICU admission. Every baby born before 35 completed weeks requires admission. They experience different degrees of respiratory problems, require optimal thermal environment , optimal nutrition, prevention or treatment of infections and development of feeding skills. Globally, all over the world, about 20 per cent of all NICU admissions are Late Preterm Infants.
In fact, each baby with problems of transition to life outside the womb, requires a temporary NICU stay. We put a great effort to encourage and support each mum to provide her own milk for the baby as this is the best of the best nutrition and protection for premature baby. We teach mums about the importance of human milk, how to express milk if the baby cannot be fed directly from the breast initially and help them with transition to direct breastfeeding at discharge.
What parents need to know?
Parents need to know that NICU can be the place of remarkable healing, where the unique blend of technology and compassion encourages healing and growth not only for babies, but also for parents. They need to be offered counselling before delivery, if the baby is suspected to be premature or has other problems.
They need to know that they are our partners in the healing process, who can ask any question, attend rounds and communicate with us 24/7 in a language that they understand. This is the way we offer NICU services at Dr Sulaiman al Habib Hospital in Dubai. We perceive a baby as a family, with dedication, professionalism and empathy.
