YOUR NEONATAL DICTIONARY
When you arrive on the ward with your baby it can feel overwhelming to suddenly hear lots of new words and phrases that you have never come across before.
Remember that no question is a silly question and it is absolutely ok to ask staff on the unit to clarify what certain terminology means so you can feel as empowered as possible in the care of your new arrival, everyone is there to support you caring for your baby. The Tiny Lives team is with you every step of your journey we may not know all the answers, but we can help you find out. As part of that support, every mam and dad that arrives on the unit receives a parent pack which is full of useful bits and pieces to help make the initial transition to the Neonatal Unit a little easier, including a notebook and pen so you can jot down any questions you might have or make a note of specialist words or medical terms relating to your specific situation. Some of the words may sound scary when you first hear them, but to ease some of the anxiety that parents may be feeling, we wanted to put together a handy guide of just some of the things that you might hear when you are spending time on the neonatal unit.
Apnoea
An apnoea is a pause in breathing. This is common in preterm babies as they have to learn to control their breathing but can happen in term babies too if they are unwell.
Anaemia
A low number of red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body.
Blood gas
This is a type of blood test taken by a heel prick or special catheter already in the baby which tells the medical team how well the lungs are working. It can help doctors and nurses know whether to offer or adjust breathing support.
Bradycardia or ‘brady’
This is a different way of talking about a slow heart rate.
Breathing tube or Endotracheal Tube / ET Tube
This is a soft plastic tube that goes in the windpipe (also referred to as ‘trachea’) to connect the baby to the ventilator. It usually goes through the mouth but you might see it through the nose sometimes. When this breathing tube is put in it is called ‘intubation’ and ‘extubation’ is the process of taking the tube out if they are ready to come off the ventilator.
Central Line / Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line
This is a thin tube (sometimes called a catheter) that is placed into a vein to help with feeding, and giving fluids or medicine to your baby.
CT scan
A special type of X-ray that uses a computer to take pictures of different parts of the body. CT scans can be used to get a detailed image of your baby’s brain so doctors can understand how they are developing.
Congenital
This means something that your baby has been born with or is present at birth, for example, ‘congenital heart disease’.
Culture
A sample of blood, urine, or other bodily fluid that is collected to be tested in the lab. This helps the medical team decide on the best medicine or support for your baby.
Desat
This is when the baby’s oxygen drops lower than the medical team would like.
High-frequency oscillating ventilators
You might also hear these called oscillators or HFOVs. This type of ventilator blows small amounts of air into a baby’s lungs very quickly so they are gently ‘wobbling’. When you first see this it can look a little odd so ask the nurses if you have any questions. With this type of ventilator, your baby can still take normal breaths if they wish.
Kangaroo Care
We love Kangaroo Care at Tiny Lives! It refers to skin-to-skin contact which is a great way to promote bonding with your new addition, helps soothe baby, helps stabilise the baby’s oxygen levels, mams and dads are encouraged to do Kanagaroo Care but for mams it also can encourage breast milk production, it is a very important part of the Neonatal experience.
Low flow
Low flow provides a small amount of oxygen directly to your baby through small prongs in their nose with no machine to help the ‘work’ or breathing. Some babies, especially pre-term babies, may go home with low-flow oxygen. Other babies may need a sort of machine to help – these are called CPAP and High Flow. A CPAP machine helps keep baby’s lungs inflated and makes breathing easier as they take all their own breaths while a High Flow machine provides warm, moist air to baby through soft prongs in their nose, giving a small amount of pressure to make breathing easier.
Meconium
A medical term for the first poo that a baby does! Meconium is thick, sticky, and dark green to black in colour, this is nothing to worry about.
Nitric oxide
This is added to the ventilator to help babies who need a lot of oxygen. It helps to relax the blood vessels in the lungs to help blood flow into the lungs and pick up oxygen.
Oxygen
Some babies can do all of the ‘work’ of breathing but need extra oxygen added to the air they breathe.
Saturations or Sats
This tells the medical team how much oxygen is in a baby’s blood. You’ll see it being measured by a special probe in the hand or foot. Monitoring this helps the team understand how much oxygen to give. You might hear beeping from this machine – this can happen if your little one is moving around, even when oxygen is at the correct level.
Ultrasound
An ultrasound is used to take pictures of organs like the brain, kidney, and heart. It isn’t painful and uses very fast sound waves to get the image of the area that doctors need to see.
Ventilators
This machine gently blows air into your baby’s lungs through a tube in their nose or mouth, inflating their lungs to make breathing easier. This can be adjusted so your baby is getting exactly what they need.
If there are any words and phrases that you would have found helpful to know before you spent time on the neonatal unit please do let us know either via direct message on social media or by email at info@tinylives.org.uk