SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit)
Multiple pregnancies make up about 15% of all premature births and if your babies are born prematurely and need any special treatment or assistance it is likely they will have a stay in SCBU (Special Baby Care Unit). The time the babies spend there will depend on how premature they are and what level of care they need.
SCBU is just one of the levels of care within the Neonatal Unit and is mainly for well babies who are catching up on growth and development after being born prematurely or for those babies whose conditions are improving.
For the most seriously ill babies there is the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and HD (High Dependency) for those babies who are not critically ill but need complex care.
Your hospital will have a Neonatal Unit but not all hospitals are equipped for all levels of care and in some cases your babies may need to be transferred to a unit far from home.
Premature babies need extra help with keeping warm and taking fluids and nourishment. It’s harder for a premature baby to stay warm as their tiny bodies aren’t fully developed and they can’t regulate their temperature. Incubators are used to assist with this problem.
If a baby is too small and weak to feed, fluids and special nutrition can be administered through a nasal tube. The tube carries milk straight to their stomachs.
Whilst your baby is being cared for in SCBU or other Neonatal Unit the experienced staff can monitor for signs of any problems that can be associated with premature births. They can then treat them promptly.
On a daily basis you will see that there are a skilled team of staff within the Units caring for your babies. There will be visits from the Consultant Paediatricians who lead the care, there will be the neonatal nurses, and various levels of doctors plus of course the many parents and siblings who are visiting their baby’s.
I would highly recommend organising a visit to your neonatal unit in the hospital at which your babies’ delivery is planned. An insight of what goes on there can prepare you for the “just in case".
My husband and I went and I am glad we did because it’s quite a shock to see just how tiny some of these premature babies can be. We saw babies at just over a pound in weight and whilst fully formed and perfect in every way they really didn’t look like full term newborn babies. It can be quite daunting seeing incubators and wires and monitors and other medical equipment.
