Initial contact and monitoring

Breast milk is the optimal food for babies and is very valuable. It contains antibodies and is specially tailored to the baby's needs. On our wards, mothers receive guidance and counselling on breastfeeding and expressing breast milk. Trained breastfeeding and lactation counsellors are also available.

Mothers can obtain bottles and accessories for expressing from the neonatology department. When expressing at home, make sure that the milk is stored in a cool place and transported in a cool bag. The bottles must be labelled with the child's name, date and time as well as the patient label.

The mother's own breast milk is often not sufficient in the first few days. For premature babies and sick newborns, donated breast milk is therefore used with the parents' consent. The milk is checked and pasteurised in the UKBB lactarium according to strict guidelines. A special premature and newborn formula is also available.

It is possible that a child cannot be breastfed or bottle-fed at first for health reasons. In this case, the child is fed via a feeding tube. To stimulate the child's need to suckle, parents can offer their child a cotton bud soaked in breast milk at mealtimes. Tube feeding is shown and explained to the parents during their stay.

Parents may bring a music box and/or a cuddly toy. This should be washed beforehand and labelled with the child's name. A worn T-shirt with the parents' scent is also welcome.

Intensive skin-to-skin contact gives children a sense of security, promotes parent-child bonding and extends the duration of breastfeeding. All of this has a positive effect on children's development and healing process.

If the child's vital functions are in a stable condition, parents can take their child to their chest with the help of a carer. This is known as the kangaroo method. With this method, parents give their child a constant breathing stimulus through their own breathing and the child hears the parent's reassuring heartbeat.

It takes a while until the parents are lying comfortably in the reclining chair, the child is lying on their chest and the medical equipment is safely positioned. Parents should therefore allow sufficient time (at least two hours). The close bond with the child is reserved exclusively for parents.

The UKBB music therapists are present in the intensive care units on selected days. Music is used in the form of voices (especially parents' and family voices) and a few selected instruments. Speaking, storytelling, humming or singing allows the children to build on their prenatal listening experiences and gives them a sense of security. Music therapy can thus create familiar moments with musical accompaniment and help to build a sustainable relationship between parents and child.

Competent doctors may prescribe additional complementary therapies, such as physiotherapy, foot reflexology or speech therapy. These aim to positively influence the child's recovery, growth and development and improve their well-being. The therapists at UKBB are specially trained in working with young patients.

During the course of the stay, it is possible that the child may be transferred to the other intensive care unit. The parents will be informed of any transfer by the staff as soon as possible.

Once the child's condition has stabilised and they no longer require care in the intensive care unit, they can be transferred to ward A of the UKBB. There is an opportunity to visit the ward before the transfer.