March of Dimes NICU Family Support

Having a baby hospitalized in a NICU can be frightening, confusing and overwhelming for parents. In conjunction with its national Prematurity Campaign, the March of Dimes developed NICU Family Support to provide information and comfort to families enduring such an experience.

In 2007, the March of Dimes chose Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach as the first hospital in California to implement its NICU Family Support Program, a family-centered program that uses parent-to-parent support to address the unique emotional needs of families who have newborns in the NICU.

Guided by a March of Dimes NICU Family Support Specialist, who has experience as a NICU parent and former NICU families, the program is built on a family-centered philosophy and addresses the needs of families throughout the hospitalization of a newborn — often a lengthy and emotional process where parents feel isolated and may not get to hold their baby for weeks, during the transition home, and in the event of a newborn death.

Contact with other parents who are sharing a similar experience, or whose babies have "graduated" and are at home helps parents know they are not alone. Parent to parent mentors provide support and informational materials at the mother's or baby's bedside. Parent education classes, creative activities and professional photography of their baby also are available to NICU families.

The program also offers a professional development component for the Division's faculty and staff, providing educational opportunities to help them sensitively support families on a daily basis. The March of Dimes NICU Family Support Program at Miller Children’s is the first such initiative in the state of California. The program provides information and comfort for families of premature babies and other critically ill newborns being cared for in the Miller Children’s NICU.

For more information on this program or to be a parent mentor contact a family support specialists.