Neonatal Nursing Week is September 14-20, celebrating the dedication and hard work of neonatal nurses who provide essential care to their tiniest patients.

Neonatal nursing is a subspeciality of nursing that provides care to newborns born with health abnormalities such as prematurity, congenital disabilities, infections, and other types of health problems. The neonatal field is broad, and there’s so much that people don’t know about these nurses who work hard to keep critically ill babies alive and well.

What Do Neonatal Nurses Do?

These nurses work in nurseries to ensure that newborn babies who are ill are stable and monitored. Neonatal nurses train to provide neonatal resuscitation if necessary. Still, their primary responsibilities are to perform typical nursing duties, test newborns’ cognitive skills, and help mothers during and after the birth of their child.

Depending on the severity of care, neonatal nurses can work with a spectrum of newborns who require different amounts of care, from premature newborns (premies) who are moderately ill to high-risk infants who require incubators, ventilators, surgery, or other types of critical care.

Neonatal nurses can also work in settings other than hospitals, providing in-home care to critically ill infants in communities. However, hospitals are often the most common setting.

Neonatal nurses is a diverse field with several opportunities for nurses to learn on the job. Read on to learn facts about neonatal nurses you didn’t know about.

Not All Neonatal Nurses Work in the NICU

Neonatal nurses can work in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), but they also care for healthy babies.

Different levels of neonatal nursing exist. Level III, or NICU nursing, is what people usually think of when they think of neonatal nursing. These nurses work with critically ill newborns with congenital problems or who are extremely premature, and they specialize in working with premature babies.

Level II nurses work in special care nurseries for babies born at 32 weeks gestation who are moderately ill or have returned from the NICU and need additional care. Level I nurses care for healthy babies born at 35 to 37 weeks gestation and care for these newborns as needed.

Although these levels play a different role, all neonatal nurses are crucial in assisting newborns during their pivotal first moments.

Neonatal Nurses Care for Babies as Tiny as Two Pounds

Premies that arrive at the NICU can be as low as two to three pounds, with extremely premature babies (micropremies) weighing less than 1.75 pounds.

Although any baby born before the 37th week of pregnancy is considered premature, the earlier a baby is born, the more susceptible they are to infection and other illnesses since their organs aren’t fully developed yet.

NICU nurses use special equipment to keep newborns alive and ensure their patients are healthy enough to be released. NICU newborns also receive on-the-clock care from bedside nurses and other specialists to check out what happens with each infant.

These nurses also work closely with the parents of premies to reassure them of any concerns and update them on their child’s health.

NICU Cares for More Than Just Premature Babies

One of the most common reasons a baby is in the NICU is prematurity, but there are other reasons why babies— including full-term ones— can be admitted to the NICU.