Drawn to Neonatology as a young girl, Dr. Marta Grisel Galarza has been a lifelong NICU baby champion. She is the Medical Director of the Intermediate Care NICU at a leading hospital in Miami, FL. In recent years, she has also developed a Neonatal/ Antenatal specific palliative care program for the Division of Neonatology.
Grisel is a founding board member of NICU Alumni and we are so thrilled to have her join us on the podcast!
Quick Call Outs from the Episode:
- It’s important to take charge and participate in your child’s care while they are in the NICU. There are elements of the care that the family can contribute to that the medical professionals simply can’t, such as: bonding, and nourishment through breast milk.
- Usually, the first question from a parent is: When are we going home?
- Let’s reframe that… it’s not WHEN, it’s HOW? So, HOW do we get this baby home?
- We loved when Grisel said, “Our goal is the same: to get you home as soon as possible.”
- When you answer the question of HOW, then you can track that progress and see each milestone that needs to be met in order for your baby to go home.
- The journey doesn’t end at discharge - Asking HOW is a great way to reframe questions when your child is having ongoing specialist visits post-NICU as well. How do we know that our child is making progress? How do we help them reach their milestones? Etc..
- Biggest piece of advice: FOLLOW UPs are essential
- You receive a lot of information when you’re in the NICU. Once you leave, there may be bits of important information that you don’t remember. THAT’S OK!
- The discharge process is overwhelming - you’ve asked and asked to leave and the day finally comes and you can still feel like you are not ready! It's important to give yourself the space to acknowledge that the NICU is traumatizing. Parents and caregivers are in survival mode, and it is difficult to retain and remember information.
- How do you build your team of support for your NICU Alumni? Recommendations from Grisel -
- Find a pediatrician
- Consider a developmental pediatrician, someone who goes over milestones and monitors that development
- Getting Physical Therapy early on is a must, they can help be mindful of developmental red flags
- ROP exams are a must, try not to miss, and if you do, make sure to reschedule
- Refer to Early Intervention as soon as possible - we agree 100%!
Thanks, Grisel!
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A special thanks to the Prolacta Bioscience Foundation for supporting the NICU Alumni podcast!
You can also support our mission and help create brighter futures for babies that have graduated from the NICU (who we affectionately refer to as NICU Alumni) and their families by donating here.
The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment only and should not be viewed as medical advice.