Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

How NICU design and infant and family-centered developmental care act synergistically to support babies and families

Abstract

Recommended NICU Design Standards and Infant and Family Centered Developmental Care standards have complementary goals. Design standards focus on environmental modifications necessary to enhance NICU baby and family experiences and outcomes. Infant and Family Developmental Care Standards focus on the functional aspects of babies' and families’ experience, including the caregiving environment. When applied in the NICU environment of care, both complementary evidence-based standards can function synergistically to promote better outcomes for babies and families.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Model of infant and family centered care.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. White RD. Recommended standards for newborn ICU design, 9 edition. J Perinatol. 2020;40:2–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Aureli T, Presaghi F, Garito MC. Mother-infant co-regulation during infancy: developmental changes and influencing factors. Infant Behav Dev. 2022;69:101768.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Harkness S, Super CM. The developmental niche: a theoretical framework for analyzing the household production of health. Soc Sci Med. 1994;38:217–26.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Flacking R, Lehtonen L, Thomson G, Axelin A, Ahlqvist S, Moran VH, et al. Closeness and separation in neonatal intensive care. Acta Paediatr. 2012;101:1032–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Pavlyshyn H, Sarapuk I, Horishna I, Slyva V, Skubenko N. Skin-to-skin contact to support preterm infants and reduce NICU-related stress. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2022;82:639–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. van Veenendaal NR, van Kempen A, Broekman BFP, de Groof F, van Laerhoven H, van den Heuvel MEN, et al. Association of a zero-separation neonatal care model with stress in mothers of preterm infants. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5:e224514.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. White RD. Development of care in the NICU. J Perinatol. 2014;34:174–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. White RD. The next big ideas in NICU design. J Perinatol. 2016;36:259–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Browne JV, Jaeger CB, Kenner C. Executive summary: standards, competencies, and recommended best practices for infant- and family-centered developmental care in the intensive care unit. J Perinatol. 2020;40:5–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Appreciation goes to Dr. Robert White whose support and inspiration for integration of design and family centered developmental care has made much of this work possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

All contributions were by the single author.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joy V. Browne.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Browne, J.V. How NICU design and infant and family-centered developmental care act synergistically to support babies and families. J Perinatol 43 (Suppl 1), 55–58 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01746-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01746-w

Search

Quick links