While premature babies often need state-of-the-art medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), there’s one special, simple service that only parents and caregivers can provide: kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin contact. This well-studied method of closely snuggling newborns offers multiple benefits to both premature and full-term infants — and it’s free!| What to Expect
No one plans on having their newborn spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), but roughly 78 out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. each year stay in these specialized nurseries. Most of them are premature babies, as 1 in 10 newborns are born before 37 weeks in the U.S. So it’s worth learning about the place all preemies visit upon arrival. Here’s a quick guide to what you can expect while your baby is there. | What to Expect
Being a new parent is already a lot to handle, but when a baby is born early, the job comes with its own set of special issues. But thankfully, due to a myriad of medical advances, even some of the tiniest premature babies born after 28 weeks have a good chance of surviving— and thriving. | What to Expect