Altering the Intensive Care Nursery

A Caveat

Abstract

The environment of the intensive care nursery (ICN) can be an iatrogenic destabilizer of the premature infant, or it can be modified to become a therapeutic agent, enhancing developmental and physiological outcome. As advances in medical care result in improved infant mortality and morbidity, the ICN environment must also be studied and redesigned. Yet, no change can be based simply on impressions of optimal sensory levels and patterns. As with any therapeutic intervention, environmental factors must be assessed in carefully designed prospective studies able to measure the effects on immediate and long term aspects of development.