Our NICU Mama's Journey

Our NICU Mama's Journey

Here at EYP, we love to treat pregnant and post-partum moms. It would be our dream to be able to see all women during pregnancy to help them address any issues they are currently having, complete “prehab” activities prior to delivery, and to educate patients on the benefits of returning to pelvic PT AFTER delivery (whether vaginal delivery or c-section), at least for an assessment of how posture, abdominals, and pelvic floor are functioning. One group of mamas that I am particularly passionate about are those with babies in the NICU, mainly because, well, that was me. I delivered boy/girl twins at 24 weeks gestation via emergency c- section. I had gone into pre-term labor due to insufficient cervix (basically, my cervix was dilating from the top down instead of how it should dilate from the bottom up – four months later) and was admitted onto the antepartum unit at 22 weeks. I received steroid shots to speed up the babies’ lung development and given medication that could only be given for a few days to try to stop labor. Thankfully, it stalled the labor for ten days until 24 weeks at which point contractions returned and despite being pumped full of magnesium and any other last-ditch drug, the twins arrived nine hours later via emergency c-section. The twins were delivered and placed on ventilators. My hospital bed was wheeled up to the NICU so I could see my babies however I was under so many drugs at this point that I can barely remember it. Their eyes were still fused shut and their NICU rooms were filled with sounds of ventilators, alarms, and doctors and nurses rushing around. I was brought downstairs to sleep and recover from surgery, all while being full of anxiety that my babies were fighting for their lives upstairs. For the next four months, our babies stayed in the NICU while we returned home and visited each day. At this point, I was a newly post-partum mom recovering from a c-section and here is why this now one of my passions. I did everything wrong. I was so concerned about my babies (of course!) that I didn’t even think to address my own recovery. Mind you, I had been a pelvic floor physical therapist at this point for five years and I COMPLETELY ignored my own pelvic floor, abdominal recovery, and c-section scar because my mind was somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if your baby is in the NICU for a year of a week – your mind is with your baby. What I realized later, though, is that my recovery should have mattered, too. And – here’s the key – there is a way to focus on both your baby AND yourself. This is what we teach all our new mamas – it’s just that our NICU mamas probably need to hear it a little bit more. So where would I recommend you start? Basically, what do I wish I would have done a bit differently? The first is just understanding that if you take a few seconds, minutes, or hours to care for your own recovery, it does not take ANYTHING away from how much you love your new baby or how concerned you are about what they are going through. By acknowledging your own physical and emotional journey, you will actually be better able to handle the challenges the NICU throws at you and if you focus on your recovery now, you’ll be better able to care for your baby when they are able to come home (again, after three days in the NICU or three months). Start with breathing. Begin to think about your diaphragm, which is the dome-shaped muscle beneath your rib cage. Whether vaginal delivery or c-section, we want to focus on using this muscle to breathe as opposed to breathing with the chest or neck muscles. Lay on your back in whatever position is comfortable and place a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly. Inhale slowly through your nose and let your belly expand toward the ceiling. Exhale through your mouth and let your belly return back down. Not only does this help encourage your pelvic floor to naturally lengthen, it can also decrease the stress and anxiety that will inevitably be present with a baby in the NICU. Bonus – when you are able to hold your baby who is in the NICU, practice this breathing while holding him or her. Your slow breathing during skin-to-skin contact can actually help your baby breathe – even if they are on a ventilator! Then, don’t be afraid to touch your abdomen. If you’ve had a c-section, you don’t want to do any work directly on your scar until you are released by your OB-GYN, usually around 6 weeks post- partum. You can, however, being to gently mobilize the tissue above your scar. If your baby is in the NICU, chances are you might be spending a significant amount of time sitting next to your baby, simply watching them. This is a perfect time to practice your breathing and mobilization of your abdominal tissue. It will help you recover – and doesn’t take away any bonding time between you and your new baby. Recognize that the emotions you are battling while your little one is in the NICU can be intense. Don’t feel pressured to handle it all well. Cry. Scream. By all means, call in the social worker or talk to a mental health professional if it would help. Acknowledge to yourself that you are doing something hard and it is okay to struggle. Accept help from family and neighbors. Take a nap. Drink water. Care for yourself as you would your new baby. The NICU road is hard, no matter why your baby is there and for how long. Recognize what an amazing thing you just did – however you delivered, you just brought a new life into this world! As much as you care for your new baby, know that it is okay to care about yourself and your recover, as well. Soon, your baby will be home and you will be ready to snuggle close and enjoy your journey.