Preparing to take your baby home
It’s normal to be both excited and anxious when thinking about your baby being discharged from the NICU. Your baby’s care team will work with you to make sure you have all the information you need prior to discharge, but the information on this page can help you prepare and plan for discharge day and beyond.
Watch this series of educational videos to help put you at ease as you prepare for you baby to be discharged from the NICU.
Chester County Hospital: View videos. Ask your NICU nurse for the hospital code to access the videos.
You will need a car seat installed in your vehicle to bring your baby home. See the information below for important information about car seats:
View the following resources to help you create a safe sleep area for your baby in your home and to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date research about the safest sleep practices.
- Alone, Back, Crib: PA Safe Sleep: PA Safe Sleep is an award-winning, evidence-based hospital initiative dedicated to promoting safe sleep practices. The program was developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from Penn Medicine, the Maternity Care Coalition, and the state of Pennsylvania.
- Helping babies sleep safely: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer steps to help baby sleep safely and reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation.
- Safe Sleep guidelines: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has assembled a comprehensive collection of tools and resources to provide education and guidance to parents and caregivers on infant safe sleep.
Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) is a term used to describe the constellation of signs and symptoms resulting from violent shaking or shaking and impacting of the head of an infant or small child. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes SBS as a subset of AHT with injuries having the potential to result in death or permanent neurologic disability.
Learn how you can prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome or view resources from your state.
- New Jersey: When a Baby Cries
- Pennsylvania: Shaken Baby Syndrome Program
Premature babies have increased vitamin and mineral needs. It is important to give your baby additional vitamins and minerals if the amount of formula or breast milk they are getting does not meet 100 percent of their needs. The most important vitamins and minerals for a newborn are vitamin D, vitamin A and iron, and most babies cannot drink enough formula or breast milk to provide them with enough of these important nutrients.
Infant vitamin and mineral supplements can be purchased over the counter and are available at most pharmacies and discount stores (such as CVS, Walgreens, Target and Wal-Mart) or online.
Please note: Vitamin and mineral supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so it is important that you purchase from a reputable company. Ask your discharge nurse about purchasing supplements at the NICU discharge pharmacy or another location.
Your pediatrician will help you select vitamin and mineral supplements and advise on when to stop using them after discharge home.
Determine who your baby will see for follow-up medical and development care. For example:
Medical care: Choose a medical provider such as a pediatrician who specializes in medical care for children. You can find a Penn Medicine pediatrician close to your home by using our Find and Doctor tool.
Early intervention: While all children grow and change at their own rate, NICU graduates are at risk for delays in their development. Early Intervention provides support and services (often at no cost to the family) to children 3 or younger with developmental delays. Services build on existing family, community, and early education resources. Service Coordinators connect each family with helpful services and support.
If we feel your infant may qualify, our social worker will refer you to the Early Intervention program when your baby leaves the NICU. You will receive a call from a Service Coordinator who will schedule a home visit to get more information and explain the Early Intervention screening process. The Service Coordinator will guide your family through the screening process and help to arrange services if needed.
Early intervention resources by state
- Delaware: Visit the Delaware early intervention services website, or submit their contact form.
- New Jersey: Visit the New Jersey early intervention services website or call 888-653-4463.
- Maryland: Visit the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program website or call 410-767-0244.
- Pennsylvania: Visit the Pennsylvania early intervention services website, call Pennsylvania Statewide CONNECT at 1-800-692-7288 or email help@connectpa.net.