Our online repository of articles is designed to support you no matter what stage of the journey you are on with your child now. Whether you’ve been placed on bedrest, have a child currently in the NICU, have a child who has graduated from the NICU years ago or are grieving a loss, we hope this information, organized by topic, will provide timely information and perspective to help you move forward in the care of yourself, family and your precious child. You may also be interested in interviews with health care providers. If you would like to contribute an article or suggest a topic, please contact us.
VIDEO Hand to Hold – Watch this video to find out more about our mission, our vision, and why we do what we do.
EXPLORE OUR LIBRARY OF ARTICLES:
High-Risk Pregnancy and Bed Rest
- Caring for Your Mental Health During Your High-Risk Pregnancy While on Bed Rest by Dawn K. Gibson, LCSW
- Questions Every Pregnant Mother Should Ask About Preterm Birth by Darline Turner-Lee
- Words of Wisdom from Mamas on Bed Rest by Darline Turner-Lee
- Pregnancy After Preterm Birth or Loss by Dr. Felicia Nash
While You’re in the NICU
- How to Communicate with Your Baby’s Care Team: 10 Tips to Help You Get What You Need by Deborah Dinsmoor, RN, BSN (NEW)
- What is NICU Family-Centered Care by Dr. Patrick Hodges, MD (NEW)
- New to the NICU? 10 Questions to Ask! by Kathryn Whitaker
- Bonding with Your Medically Fragile Baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit by Dawn K. Gibson, LCSW
- How to Survive the NICU: Top 10 Tips for NICU Mom’s Health by Kathryn Whitaker
- Balancing Work and a NICU Stay by Samantha Pridgen
- Finding a Balance Between NICU and Home (PDF) by Erika Goyer
- The Day I Became a NICU Dad by Joel Brens
- Answering Your Children’s Questions about a Baby in the NICU by Laura Romero (NEW)
- Don’t Forget the Siblings: Ways to Support the Entire Family During a Hospital Stay by Khris Ford
- Grandparent Perspectives on Life in the NICU by Kelli Kelley
- Nana in the NICU by Mary Dudley
- The Night I Met My Son by Mike Kelley
- How to Pay for Your NICU Stay (Texas Edition) by Erika Goyer
- How to Pay for Your NICU Stay (National Edition) by Erika Goyer (en Español) PRINT
- Navigating Claims, Explanation of Benefits and Insurance Companies by Kathryn Whitaker
Coming Home
- Coming Home from the NICU: 10 Things to Tell Your Friends and Family
- A Letter for Family and Friends – We’re Coming Home from the NICU: 10 Things We Want You to Know PRINT
- When Your Friend Has a Preemie by Afton Mower
- Balancing Work and a NICU Stay by Samantha Pridgen
- Keeping My Respiratory-Comprised Child Healthy During RSV Season – One Mom’s Story by Shelley Colquitt (NEW)
- NICU to Home: A Perspective on Feeding Difficulties by Anne Boon
- RSV 101: What Every NICU Parent Needs to Know (Includes Video) by Kelli Kelly and Amy Carr
- Tips to Stay Well During RSV Season by Dr. Sel Unite
- Tips to Creating a Safe Sleep Environment by Erika Goyer & Amy Carr
- Advocating for Your Kids: How to Win Friends and Influence Providers by Erika Goyer
- What Does a Pediatric Home Health Provider Do? – Skilled Nursing Care at Home
- A Parent’s Guide to Home Health Services by Marty Barnes
Emotional Support
- VIDEO Parents Share the Power of Peer Connections Hand to Hold shares testimonials from several mothers of preemies who share their experiences having a child born early in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the benefits of connecting with a peer who has shared similar experiences.
- More Children After Prematurity? by Samantha Pridgen
- Coping with Developmental Assessments by Katrina Moline
- Answering Your Children’s Questions about a Baby in the NICU by Laura Romero (NEW)
- For the Love of Cameron – Siblings and Their Needs by Laura Romero
- Redefining a Special Needs Child by Bea Smith
- Change of Plans by Melissa Haber
- The Day I Became a NICU Dad by Joel Brens
- Balancing Work and a NICU Stay by Samantha Pridgen
- How to Survive the NICU: Top 10 Tips for NICU Mom’s Health by Kathryn Whitaker
- Breathing In Well-Being and Renewal by Rhonda McMahon
- Everything is Together, Why am I Falling Apart: Jackson’s First Birthday by Kelli Kelley
- The Agony of a Deep Freeze Thaw by Carol Ramsey
- The Edge of September by Kasey Mathews
- The Four Areas of Self-Care by Rhonda McMahon
- The Night I Met My Son by Mike Kelley
- What About Healthy Siblings? by Neven Simpson
Support for the Siblings of a NICU Baby
- Answering Your Children’s Questions about a Baby in the NICU by Laura Romero
- What Causes Children Stress: Understanding Children’s Developmental Stages and Common Stressors by Laura Romero
- Growing Together: Ways to Involve Siblings in a NICU Experience and After by Laura Romero
- We’re a Family Now: Setting Sibling Expectations by Laura Romero
- For the Love of Cameron – Siblings and Their Needs by Laura Romero
- Don’t Forget the Siblings: Ways to Support the Entire Family During a Hospital Stay by Khris Ford
- I’m Special Too: Ways to Help Siblings Feel Important by Laura Romero
- BONUS: Download a list of books we recommend for children. PRINT
Caring for Your Mental Health
- Knowing the Signs of Postpartum Depression by Dr. Felicia Nash (NEW)
- Understanding PTSD: When the Stress of the NICU Persists by Dr. Blaine Carr (en Español)
- VIDEO Understanding PTSD after a NICU Stay Hand to Hold’s Kelli Kelley shares information about post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after the hospitalization of a child born early. Learn about the symptoms of the PTSD. Also interviewed are therapist Paula Griggs, Dr. Michael Hynan, and preemie parent Katrina Moline.
- Caring for Your Mental Health During Your High-Risk Pregnancy While on Bed Rest by Dawn K. Gibson, LCSW
- Finding a Professional Counselor by Erika Goyer
- Re-Entry by Kasey Mathews
Feeding & Nutrition
- A G-Tube is Not a White Flag by Michelle Hensel
- Human Milk Saves Babies, Reduces Complications by Neven Simpson
- The Gift of Human Milk by Kelli Kelley
- NICU to Home: A Perspective on Feeding Difficulties by Anne Boon
- Nourishing Your Premature Baby in the NICU by Amy Gates, RD, CSP, LD
- What Does a Dietitian Do?
- Let Them Eat Cake: Working with Food Allergies by Bea Smith
- VIDEO Preemie Nutrition: Nutritional Needs & Fortification is an educational video for parents of preemies, low birth weight newborns, and fragile infants that describes the unique nutritional requirements of small babies and how fortification may be required to help them with catch-up growth. Pediatric Dietitian Leslie Ivey, LD, RD, with Austin’s First Steps High-Risk Follow-Up Clinic is interviewed.
- Picking the Formula that is Right for Your Child’s Unique Nutritional Needs – Formula Comparisons and Details – by Leslie Ivey PRINT
- What Does a Lactation Consultant Do?
- VIDEO Preemie Nutrition: Increasing Your Milk Supply is an educational video for parents of low birth weight, premature, or fragile babies that describes the benefits of breastfeeding and gives tips about increasing mom’s milk supply. Kay Needles, an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant and NICU Nurse at St. David’s Medical Center is interviewed.
- Tips for Increasing Your Milk Supply and Improving Your Pumping Success – by Kay Needles Gregorio PRINT
Your Child’s Health
- Keeping My Respiratory-Comprised Child Healthy During RSV Season – One Mom’s Story by Shelley Colquitt (NEW)
- Now I Know – An RSV Story by Kasey Mathews
- RSV 101: What Every NICU Parent Needs to Know by Kelli Kelly and Amy Carr
- VIDEO Protect Your Preemie from RSV Kelli Kelley from Hand to Hold shares information about Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the leading cause of rehospitalization for children less than 12 months old. Preterm babies and children with specific medical diagnoses, such as heart or lung disease, are at highest risk of complications from this virus. Dr. Sarmistha Hauger, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Dell Children’s Medical Center, explains how to prevent exposure to RSV, who is at highest risk and treatments which are available, such as a protective injection (Synagis) that is available. Kasey Mathews, whose daughter was born at 25 weeks and was re-hospitalized at age 2 with RSV shares her story. This video was graciously underwritten by St. David’s Foundation and MedImmune.
- Tips to Stay Well During RSV Season by Dr. Sel Unite
- Safe Sleep and Your Baby by SafeKids Austin and the Travis County Medical Examiner
- Plagiocephaly: The 411 by Kathryn Whitaker
- Summer Health & Safety: Baby! It’s Hot Outside by Priya Shankar and Veena Krishnan
- Tips to Creating a Safe Sleep Environment by Erika Goyer & Amy Carr
- What Does a Pediatric Home Health Provider Do? – Skilled Nursing Care at Home
- A Parent’s Guide to Home Health Services by Marty Barnes
- Have Preemie, Will Travel (Eventually) by Melissa Haber
Your Child’s Development
- Bringing Out the Best in Your Child by Erika Goyer (NEW)
- Understanding Your Child’s Development: What Are Milestones? by Erika Goyer (NEW)
- What Does It All Mean: Why Do We Track Milestones Anyway? by Erika Goyer (NEW)
- Meeting Our Children’s Developmental Needs: One Step at a Time by Erika Goyer
- What to Expect at Your First Pediatric Therapy Appointment by Erika Goyer and Kimberley Johnson
- Ways to Adapt Playtime to Meet Your Child’s Needs and Engage the Senses! PRINT
- Coping with Developmental Assessments by Katrina Moline
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has a Developmental Delay or Learning Disability Part One: Birth to Age Three by Erika Goyer
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has a Developmental Delay or Learning Disability Part Two: Age Three and Up by Erika Goyer
- Redefining a Special Needs Child by Bea Smith
- Choosing Your Child’s Therapist by Doug Levine
- The Relationship Between Prematurity and ADHD by Dr. Dina O’Brien
- Daycare for the Special Needs Child by Katrina Moline
Meet the Provider- Interviews with health care providers, therapists and specialists
- What Does a Pediatric Pulmonologist Do? (NEW)
- What Does a NICU Social Worker Do? (NEW)
- What is NICU Family-Centered Care by Dr. Patrick Hodges, MD (NEW)
- What Does a Pediatric Home Health Provider Do? – Skilled Nursing Care at Home
- What Does a Dietitian Do?
- What Does a Lactation Consultant Do?
- What Does a Speech Language Pathologist Do?
- What Does a Child Life Specialist Do?
- What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?
- What Does a Physical Therapist Do?
Insurance and Your Finances
- How to Pay for Your NICU Stay (Texas Edition) by Erika Goyer
- How to Pay for Your NICU Stay (National Edition) by Erika Goyer (en Español) PRINT
- Navigating Claims, Explanation of Benefits and Insurance Companies by Kathryn Whitaker
- Seeing Another Specialist? Reduce Your Paperwork by Marty Barnes
- Appealing Denials for Synagis Shots (near bottom of article)
- Balancing Work and a NICU Stay by Samantha Pridgen
Education and Advocacy
- Advocating for Your Kids: How to Win Friends and Influence Providers by Erika Goyer
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has a Learning Disability Part One: Birth to Age Three by Erika Goyer
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has a Learning Disability Part Two: Age Three and Up by Erika Goyer
- The Squeaky Wheel: The Tactics (and Pitfalls) of Advocating for Your Kids in School by Kim Pleticha
- The Spirit of Inclusion – Embracing Special Needs Kids in the Classroom by Jennifer VanBuren
- Inclusion and Halloween: Making Halloween Accessible to All Children by Angela Wright
Bereavement and Grief
- They May Look Like Twins, But They’re Triplets by Keira Sorrells
- Change of Plans by Melissa Haber
- How Many Children Do You Have? by Kelli Kelley
- Questions About Heaven by Keira Sorrells
- Finding Purpose After Infant Loss by Elaine Jones
- Six Tips to Cope with Grief During the Holidays by Erika Goyer
- Ways to Remember Your Baby During the Holidays by Erika Goyer
- After the Loss: A Dad’s Perspective on What Helps…
and What Doesn’t by Robert Goyer - Do I Need Support? What Peer Support Has Meant to Me by Erika Goyer
en Español
- Cómo pagar por su estadía en la NICU (Nacional)
- Cómo pagar por su estadía en la NICU (Texas)
- Tener a un bebé en la UCIN por Cook Children’s Centro Médico y kidshealth.org
- Cuando su bebé nace con un problema de salud por Cook Children’s Centro Médico y kidshealth.org
- Guía de apoyo para tí y tu bebé prematuro por La Academia Americana de Pediatría, Fundación de Niños con Defectos de Nacimiento March of Dimes
- ¿Por qué el Programa Canguro? por La Leche League
- Amamantar un bebé prematuro por el doctor G Gremmo-Feger
- Aumento de peso y nutrición neonatal
- Ayuda para los Bebés Hasta Su Tercer Cumpleaños por NICHCY
- Su Bebé y el Sueño Seguro de SafeKids Austin and the Travis County Medical Examiner
- Qué es el Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático o PTSD: Cuándo persiste la tensión de la NICU por Dr. Blaine Carr
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Boletín de noticias Invierno 2011 Primavera 2012
Tributes
- Honoring Dr. Mary Ellen Avery – Surfactant Therapy Pioneer
- Katie Beckett Defied The Odds, Helped Other Disabled Kids Live Longer
The Lighter Side
- The Case for Siblings – For and Against by Clay Nichols
- Modesty in the NICU, A Proposal by Clay Nichols







