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Developmentally supportive care in the newborn intensive care unit: early intervention in the community
Patricia Gorra Bondurant1, Kathleen S Brinkman
1Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. pattie.bondurant@cchmc.org
Insights
Hospital nurses are expanding their focus beyond medical needs to include developmental support for infants and toddlers. This approach integrates family-centered care and early intervention collaboration for optimal child development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Developmental Psychology
- Neonatal Care
Background:
- Traditional nursing care for infants and toddlers primarily addressed medical concerns.
- Emerging research in early brain development highlights the importance of developmentally supportive care.
- The role of nursing in fostering the crucial early parent-infant relationship is increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the expansion of nursing care to include a developmental perspective for infants and toddlers.
- To emphasize the integration of developmental care and family-centered approaches from NICU admission through home transition.
- To highlight the nurse's role in supporting families and collaborating within interdisciplinary early intervention teams.
Main Methods:
- Review of current nursing practices and research in infant and toddler care.
- Analysis of the integration of developmental care principles into NICU and community health settings.
- Examination of the collaborative roles of nurses within interdisciplinary teams, including parents.
Main Results:
- Nursing care is evolving to incorporate a global view of infant/toddler development into care plans.
- Developmentally supportive care, including family-centered approaches, is crucial from NICU admission to home transition.
- Nurses are pivotal in supporting families and collaborating with healthcare, educational, and social service systems for early intervention.
Conclusions:
- Nurses play a key role in providing developmentally supportive care for infants and toddlers.
- Collaboration with families and interdisciplinary teams is essential for effective early intervention.
- Continuous learning in developmental milestones and neurodevelopmental assessment is vital for nurses.
Abstract:
The traditional focus of hospital nurses on the medical concerns of infants and toddlers is expanding to encompass the more global view that integrates the developmental level of each infant/toddler into the nursing care plan. Research on early brain development has supported the focus on developmentally supportive care in the NICU. Nursing support of the early relationship between infant and parent that will influence the infant's future development is part of this process. The integration of developmental care concepts including family-centered care that begins on admission to the NICU may continue into the process of discharge and transition to home. The nurse is in an excellent position to support the family in naming their concerns, their strengths, and the hopes and dreams they have for their infant. Nurses in the NICU, home care, community, and public health increasingly focus on a developmental perspective in their work but will be continually challenged to increase their knowledge and understanding of developmental milestones, neurodevelopmental assessment, and their role in collaborating with the wider world of early intervention. This collaboration includes the health care system, the educational system, and the social service system as equal players. For some nurses, this will be a new experience whereby the responsibility for the child is shared among members of an interdisciplinary team that includes the parents. Nurses are key to providing developmentally supportive care and working collaboratively on behalf of the infants and toddlers and their families.