“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Horton, Dr. Seuss
To advocate for the right of all premature infants to be cared for in a developmentally supportive manner.
Our Vision
To ensure that the premature infant Bill of Rights is the standard of care for all babies born prematurely, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, on all shifts, in every Neonatal Intensive Care Unit throughout the world.
Did You Know?
1
Premature Infants are Born Each Year
1
Percentage of USA-born babies premature
1
Billions of dollars spent annually on preemies
Common Premature Infant Complications
BPD – Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia sometimes called chronic lung disease. A child is not born with BPD. It is something that develops as a consequence of prematurity and progressive lung inflammation.
IVH – Intraventricular Hemorrhage is a bleeding of the brain’s ventricular system. This type of hemorrhage is particularly common in infants, specially premature infants or those of very low birth weight (VLBW).
ROP – Retinopathy of Prematurity is a disease of the eye that affects prematurely born babies. All preterm babies are at risk for ROP, and very low birth weight (VLBW) is an additional risk factor. ROP can lead to blindness.
Resources
- I have a right to expect that my caregivers’ practices reflect evidence-based best practice.
- I have the right to be considered an active participant in my life capable of feeling and responding in all situations.
- I will be cared for in a developmentally supportive way and a measurement tool will be used to ensure consistency of my care.
- I have the right to an environment that protects my vision and hearing by maintaining sound and light levels within recommended levels.
- I will drive my feeding schedule not doctors or nurses and a feeding readiness scale will be used to ensure that I am in control.
- My family can visit me at any time.
- My family can participate in all activities that involve me.
- I can enjoy kangaroo care any time my family wants, emergency situations being the obvious exception.
- My care will be standardized across all shifts by all clinical staff that interacts with me.
- My care will be clustered so that my precious sleep cycles are minimally disturbed.
- I have the right to know a pain scale will be used to minimize causing me pain.
- I have the right to expect that all my caregivers will keep in mind as Horton said, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
- I have the right to be discharged home as soon as medically appropriate and not be kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit one day longer because it may be financially beneficial to the hospital.
BEB Organic, Specialized Preemie Skincare
www.beborganic.com
Caring Essentials
www.caringessentials.org
Creative Therapy Consultants
www.creativetherapyconsultants.com
European Foundation for the Care of Infants
www.efcni.org
Graham’s Foundation
www.grahamsfoundation.org
Neonatal Therapists
www.neontaltherapists.com
NICU Training Module
www.otptinthenicu.com
Nurtured by Design
www.nurturedbydesign.com
Preemie World
www.preemieworld.com
Zoe Rose
www.zoerose.org
Click on the links to read the PDF Article:
- C-sections more common, less healthy for baby
- Core measures for developmentally supportive care in neonatal intensive care units_theory, precedence and practice
- Delivery Even a Bit Early May Mean Developmental Delays
- Developmental Care – The Impact of Wee Care Developmental Care Training on the Short-Term Infant Outcome and Hospital Costs
- Developmental Care – Changing the NICU Physically and Behaviorally to Promote Patient Outcomes and Contain Costs
- Estimates of the cost and length of stay changes that can be attributed to one-week increases in gestational age for premature infants
- Function of Extremely Low Birth Weight Children at School Age Poor Predictive Validity of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development for Cognitive
- Chronic Conditions, Functional Limitations, and Special Extremely Low-Birth-Weight in the 1990s Health Care Needs of School-aged Children
- Young adult outcomes of very-low-birth-weight children
- Instituting Developmental Care_One Unit’s Success Story
- Lasting Effects of Preterm Birth and Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage at 12 Years of Age-Pediatrics
- Million-Dollar Babies
- More tiny babies surviving, but with problems
- Quality Caring in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit_The Effectiveness of the Wee Care Program
- Quality Improvement Analysis of Developmental Care in Infants Less Than 1500 Grams at Birth
- Reliability and Effectiveness of an Infant Positioning Assessment Tool to Standardize Developmentally Support Positioning Practices in the NICU
- The Importance of Positioning the Near-term Infant for Sleep, Play, and Development
- The Universe of Developmental Care
- Preterm Birth and Attention-Deficit_Hyperactivity Disorder in Schoolchildren
- Being Born Only Week or Two Early Raises Risks for Baby
- Study Developmental Delay for Late Preterm Babies
Press
Donate
Use the form below to make a monetary donation or use the Amazon button to make your usual purchases through Amazon Smile. A portion of your order will go to support the Foundation for Premature Infants.
Donations to the Foundation Will in Part be Used to:
- First and foremost advocate for premature infants
- Fund Quality Improvement programs
- Train and educate clinicians on evidence based developmentally supportive care practices
- Offer scholarships to attend developmentally supportive conferences and programs
- Fund Quality Improvement studies
- Donations are tax-deductible contributions