Our First NICU

This is a doctor-supervised
information website
that is useful for families who are
worried about
raising a baby born small in Japan.

About
NICU/GCU

About Babies
Born Small

Living with
Babies
Born Small

Frequently Asked
Question

Useful
Information

About
World Prematurity Day

Updated information

Added "Locally Available Childcare Support" and "Disaster-Prevention Measures" to the "Towards Discharge" section.

Supervising Editor

Hidehiko Nakanishi, M.D.,Ph.D.

Professor, Research and Development Center for New Medical Frontiers, Department of Advanced Medicine, Division of Neonatal Intensive Care Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine

Message from the supervising editor

If your baby is hospitalized in the NICU soon after birth, your family's anxieties and worries are immeasurable. Even with an explanation from the medical staff in advance, there may be things, such as the condition you may be hearing about for the first time, that you think you understood but when thinking back may puzzle you. After being discharged you will think "What will happen from now on? How about nursery school? and elementary school?" and become very worried.

We decided to create this website with the hope of reducing the worries of families throughout Japan who are having difficult days raising babies born small, by providing reliable and definite medical information by experts from each field. When you are troubled with childcare, it is not always possible to solve it by yourself. But please do not worry. Our medical staff will work together as one, to provide useful information for families through this website.

Message from the writer 
to the parents of babies born small

Congratulations on your baby’s birth. At first, you may be worried and uncertain as to whether the small newborn baby will really grow and stay healthy. But please do not worry. Babies are born with the power to live and grow. It may only be a small change at first but the baby will eventually grow little by little after progressing and regressing to give you a message of his/her own. It is OK to take time. Please accomplish each step with your baby.

We will continue to work with you even after your child leaves the NICU/GCU, utilizing our multiple professions by regularly checking the child’s growth in a follow-up outpatient clinic that supports discharged babies. We will continue to support the baby we have taken care of in the NICU/GCU with his/her father, mother, and family.

Writer Representative

Masako Nagata
Professor / Clinical Psychologist, Nagoya University Psychological Support & Research Center for Human Development