Occupational Therapists’ Role in the NICU

An occupational therapist (OT) can work with adults, but they can also work with the tiniest of patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU is for premature or ill newborns after birth. Occupational therapists are trained to provide a wide range of services to the baby and their family. OTs conduct evaluations, provide treatment, educate and support the family, and eventually plan discharge. Many NICU babies are premature, so there is a lot of developmental and physical care needed to help them grow in a healthy manner. Occupational therapists look at feeding, sensory development and regulation, positioning, massage, and parental education.

For example, sensory development and regulation is critical to a newborn's development, in or out of the NICU. However, the hospital setting of a NICU makes sensory input even more difficult to control. Touch, movement, light, sound and many more sensory inputs can be overbearing to a newborn, who has been in a dark, quiet, and warm place for the entire start of its life. It is important for OTs to control these inputs in order to not cause the baby physical stress, which can lead to an irregular heart rate and many more problems.

Occupational therapists play a key role in a NICU baby’s care. Doctors will save the baby, but the OTs make sure the baby thrives and develops to their fullest potential.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

“There is no rational reason to remain a pessimist in a world full of so many miracles.” -Unknown

Works Cited

Nightlinger, Kathleen. "Developmentally Supportive Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Occupational Therapist's Role." Neonatal Network 30.4 (2011): 243-48. PubMed. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

N.d. Program in Occupational Therapy. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.