Born Fighters !!!
Overwhelming life in a NICU for the babies and parents.
Parents wait with bated breath for the arrival of anew life, well most of them do! After nine months of anticipation and excitement, when the D-day arrives and the mom goes into labor, this is certainly the start of new beginnings. The feeling is incredible. Most of the family members start planning their new roles right away. And once the baby arrives, it is the most overwhelming moment with an avalanche of emotions. But what if you have to leave the hospital without your precious newborn tucked along? That feeling when the mothers feel betrayed by their bodies. Wasn’t she enough or wasn’t her love enough to give her baby a safer birth. In many cases, the babies have to stay away at the NICU ( Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) fighting for their lives before they get to reach the warmth of their homes.
NICU life roundup
There could be several reasons for this, like premature birth, birthing complications, underlying neonatal health conditions. This highly specialized treatment for their baby mostly leaves the families struggling to cope up with the situation, parenting from a distance while feeling inadequate and aloof at the same time. This phase could also be ghastly for the parents seeing their little life put in an incubator with numerous breathing tubes and feeding tubes plastered to its tiny and fragile body. The room is constantly filled with the beeping and buzzing of the machines which stay in their hearts even after the NICU life is over. Parents undergoing such experiences are often known to suffer from or be at increased risk of postpartum depression and anxiety. It’s like an all-encompassing life in the NICU, where the rest of the world keeps going on around you unperturbed but life has stopped for your tiny little family. As a rather gratifying step in this regard, peer-to-peer support is being provided to such families by the ‘veteran’ neonatal intensive care unit parents while supplementing with the experienced NICU staff and caretakers.
Hope is being able to see that there is light in spite of all darkness
We can do no great things, but only small things with great love- Mother Teresa
My words of incitement for such parents and family: hold on, please don't lose hope.
There is light at the end of the tunnel and you shall emerge stronger than you would ever think. Your baby is growing and getting healthier and stronger at his or her own pace. We also need to realize that although these babies are tiny, they are putting up a good fight. They deserve recognition for their fight! The waves of emotions that you feel now, please own them too. It's okay to feel sad or angry that your child is in the NICU and not with you. These emotions are normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Together you will make it through and there will be ‘ THE MOMENT’ when you can hold and cuddle your precious one without monitors beeping. So hold on till that moment and be a fighter!
