Page 63 - What to Expect

Going home

Getting a babysitter may be difficult. Not too many people are willing to
babysit an infant with an apnoea monitor. It is important that whoever
you choose is comfortable with the apnoea monitor and knows infant
resuscitation.

Anyone can go to the Plunket or Karitane family unit in their area and
receive instruction on how to resuscitate an infant. Ask your Plunket nurse
for further details.
Knowing when to stop putting the apnoea monitor on the baby may be
difficult for some families. The familiar reassuring sounds of the clicks
can be hard to part with. Some families go cold turkey from the apnoea
monitor, others need to wean themselves off it gradually.

Follow-up clinics and the health professional

team

When you have an appointment with any of the health professionals
mentioned below, it is practical to have a list of questions, problems,
or worries to ask them. Nothing is worse than getting home and
remembering that you forgot to ask about a little problem that has been
niggling you for weeks.

Who are the neonatal community nurses or homecare
team?

The neonatal homecare team provides expert follow-up home visits by a
nurse experienced in the care of pre-term and special care infants for up
to three months after discharge from the Unit, depending on your baby’s
requirements. Ask at the Unit how this works in your region.

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