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Many babies admitted to the SCBU will require extra help to support three very important basic needs, breathing, keeping warm and feeding. This section will give you a brief overview of how we might help to support theses needs and of the equipment you may see being used. Specific pieces of equipment may change slightly from hospital to hospital and not all equipment you see may be used for your baby.

 

Supporting your baby's breathing

 

If your baby needs extra oxygen while on the SCBU, you may see this being delivered to your baby in one of the following two ways:

• Headbox: used for babies who can breathe without help but need some oxygen support. Oxygen is piped to a clear perspex box which rests over the baby's head.
  
  
• Nasal Cannula: is a way of giving a baby extra oxygen through the nose to ensure adequate amounts of oxygen in the blood. Two tiny tubes (one in each nostril) are attached to flexible plastic piping that reaches across each cheek, to the back of the head and to the source of oxygen.

 

While your baby is receiving oxygen support he/she will be attached to a cardiorespiratory monitor with a pulse oximeter that tracks the amount of oxygen in the blood while keeping check on your baby’s heartbeat and breathing rate. In addition to this your baby may be attached to an apnoea alarm.

 

Keeping your baby warm

 

When you first visit the SCBU you will be faced with an environment that is very warm. This is because premature and sick babies are unable to regulate their own temperature effectively.

 

If your baby is premature or low birth weight

If your baby has been born prematurely or has a low birth weight then he/she has very little fat which enables him/her to control the rate at which heat is lost, leaving him/her very susceptible to becoming cold quickly. The SCBU nurses aim to maintain your baby's temperature at around 37'C. This is the optimum temperature at which your baby uses up the least energy to keep warm. In order to provide this you baby may be placed in a 'hot cot’ which is a water filled mattress that can be warmed or cooled according to your baby’s needs.

 

 

Your baby’s temperature will be monitored regularly throughout the day to ensure that he/she does not become too hot or cold. As your baby begins to grow you will find that he/she needs less support in maintaining his/her temperature and the 'hot cot’ temperature can gradually be reduced until your baby is ready to be nursed in a standard cot.

 

If your baby is term

If your baby has been admitted to SCBU because he/she is showing signs of being unwell then his/her ability to produce heat is lowered. Your baby may also be placed on a 'hot cot’ to ensure optimal temperature, so that recovery can occur more quickly.

 

 

Nutrition

 

The nutritional requirements of any baby depend on why they have been admitted to SCBU, and will be assessed by the doctors and nurses caring for your baby upon arrival.  If your baby is showing signs of being unwell, then he/she may be unable to have milk feeds initially. Instead, a small plastic tube (a cannula) will be inserted into a vein to administer sugary water until your baby is well enough to feed.

 

Milk feeds will be commenced as soon as your baby is well enough. If you had wished to breastfeed then it is a good idea to begin to express milk for your baby until he/she can commence feeds, thus establishing your milk supply. The nurses and midwives can help you to express your breast milk, which can then be stored until your baby requires. If you had wished to bottle feed then your own choice of formula will be given once your baby is well enough.

 

 

If your baby is too sleepy or too unwell to trial at the breast or take a bottle feed, then a small tube called a naso- or oro-gastric tube (NGT or OGT) may be passed via your baby’s nose or mouth directly into the stomach. This tube can then be used to give milk feeds, without the need to wake your baby, enabling him/her to use vital energy for growing and becoming well.

 

If your baby has graduated from NICU into SCBU then it is likely he/she may already be receiving feeds via a NGT or OGT. You will find that as your baby grows the frequency of feeds will decrease, and your baby may go from hourly, to two hourly, to three hourly feeds as his/her condition dictates. This will prime your baby to begin to wake for feeds and feel hungry as you begin to prepare for home.

 

Read more about milk formulas used on the unit in the following download:

 

 

 

 

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