Quick question- what are the rules right now in your NICU? Are the parents (asymptomatic) still allowed to visit/stay with their baby during the hospitalization in the unit?

Share your thoughts and practices!

 

I can only speak for the Stockholm Region - healthy parents stay with us as usual (i.e. our family-based strategy is not changed practically), but we do not allow other visitors at all right now.

If an infant is born to a Covid+ mother and there is a need of neonatal care, we admit the infant directly (i.e. separate directly). We regard the infant as healthy BUT room-in in a single room with the other parent if healthy, and otherwise with a healthy person assigned by the parents (like a relative or friend).

Thanks for your comment, Stefan! In Turku, it's very similar, but I'm getting information from Poland that in many places they first limited visiting hours for parents, and then banned parents from the NICU altogether... I have mixed feelings about it for sure. I don't want to belittle the threat the new virus is imposing, but I believe that the trauma of isolating parents from their baby might have equally devastating and maybe even longer-lasting consequences. Would love to hear more from others too!

Check out this comment by @neobfmd to the blog post by @AllThingsNeonatal

and read the link provided (https://trends.hms.harvard.edu/2020/03/31/covid-19-separating-infected-mothers-from-newborns-weighing-the-risks-and-benefits/)