Nursing care of infants begins immediately after birth and progresses as a baby grows. Infants are not just small adults; they are patients with their own set of complex health issues. Nurses who work with infants have training to understand the exclusive illnesses and identifiable issues that are particular to young babies.
Delivery
Once a baby is born, the nurse establishes that he is breathing adequately. A bulb syringe is used to suction the baby's mouth and nose, and he is dried vigorously to maintain temperature and to stimulate crying. The nurse monitors the ABCs of resuscitation following birth: ensuring an airway, establishing breathing, and promoting circulation. Any deviations require nursing intervention. For example, a baby who is having difficulty breathing may need oxygen until he can breathe on his own.
Feeding
Nurses work to ensure that a baby is eating and that a mother learns how to feed her infant. This may involve teaching a parent how to prepare a bottle of formula, the position to hold a baby during feeding, and how to burp after eating. Nursing care also involves teaching mothers how to breast-feed, the proper position for feedings and how to store pumped breast milk. Nurses may weigh infants to ensure they are getting enough to eat and gaining adequate weight.
Temperature
Babies that are too warm may develop high temperatures, which cause discomfort and irritability. Babies that become too cold are at risk of infection and weight loss because they spend their energy trying to warm themselves. Part of nursing care is teaching parents how to dress their baby to prevent overheating and to keep his temperature stable. Nurses may also care for infants with infections and high temperatures, by administering medications and providing comfort care measures.
Jaundice
Jaundice is the build-up of a by-product of red blood cell formation called bilirubin. According to the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, jaundice appears as a yellowing of the skin and eyes and requires treatment to reduce bilirubin levels in the bloodstream. Nurses use special lights that breakdown the bilirubin to be excreted from the body. The lights require an infant's eyes to be covered, and a nurse monitors a baby's activity to keep her safe during this treatment.
Teaching
Nursing care of infants involves teaching parents many different aspects of caring for their baby. Newborn nursery nurses teach new parents how to give their baby a bath and how to change diapers. Parents learn information such as the correct position for sleep and how to reduce the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the unexplainable sudden death of an infant that shows no medical cause. Some parents have an infant who needs medication or special equipment at home, and nurses teach these parents how to use monitors and draw up medications to care for their baby.
References
- Brookside Associates: Lesson 8: Care of the Normal Newborn Infant
- National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development: Infant Health
- "Nursing Care of Children: Principles and Practice;" Jean Weiler Ashwill & Susan Colvert Droske; 1997
