2018 Update to Baby Steps to Home Eases Transition to Home for Families of Neonates

CHICAGO, May 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) released a 2018 update to Baby Steps to Home, a series of downloadable online handouts created to standardize the discharge pathway neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses use to educate parents about their baby's condition and prepare them to take their baby home. This free discharge planning resource is the only of its kind, providing English and Spanish-speaking families with the information needed to navigate their NICU experience and reduce apprehension as they prepare for life beyond the NICU.

The update offers 12 modules comprised of 109 handouts that cover topics that range from breastfeeding to car seat safety, revisions to 85% of the original handouts, and 19 new nurse and parent handouts. New topics include:

• Newborn screening and critical congenital heart defects screening
• Postpartum depression
• 6 new diagnoses, such as neonatal abstinence syndrome and microcephaly
• 6 new medications, such as methadone and keppra
• New section on procedures, including circumcision and lumbar puncture
• Updated and expanded resources section

The 2018 update of Baby Steps to Home was led by Rebecca South, BSN RNC-NIC and Suzanne Staebler, DNP APRN NNP-BC FAANP FAAN. "Going home with a neonate after days or months in the NICU is a stressful time for family members," South says. "It's an honor to contribute to an evidence-based resource that impacts so many lives—not just our patients, but their caregivers as well." Baby Steps to Home handouts are editable so nurses can add patient-specific notes. NANN encourages hospital systems, healthcare institutions, and neonatal nurses to share Baby Steps to Home with families of patients in their care.

About NANN
As the professional voice and home of neonatal nurses, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists, NANN supports the advancement of the neonatal nursing profession through opportunities for neonatal nurses to influence care for neonates and their families, collaborate with leaders and peers in their field, and gain clinical knowledge to improve daily practice. NANN serves nearly 7,500 members from all over the world. Learn more at www.nann.org.

Media Contact:
Molly Anderson
[email protected]
847.375.4897

SOURCE National Association of Neonatal Nurses

Related Links

http://www.nann.org