Family Integrated Care (FICare) is a way for you to work in partnership with the healthcare professionals and be your baby’s primary carer on the unit.
FICare involves:
getting to know your baby
getting involved with your baby’s care
helping plan your baby’s care and making decisions
speaking up for your baby
Many neonatal units run sessions for parents and carers with tips on caring for your baby.
We have more information about FICare and what it involves.
You might find you spend a lot of time just watching your baby. This is a really important part of getting to know them.
Watching your baby can help you to learn how they show what they are feeling. For example, you might notice how they move, sleep, or cry at different times. You might notice the different signs they give when they feel:
hungry
tired
uncomfortable
in pain
relaxed
These signs are sometimes called ‘cues’.
As you get to know your baby’s cues, you can help the healthcare professionals understand how your baby is feeling. You can help them know when your baby might be feeling unwell or in pain. This will help you and the staff to give them the right care and treatment.
It’s OK if you do not feel able to do any of these things. The unit staff will help you to feel confident to be your baby’s primary carer. Even as you feel more confident, the staff will keep monitoring and caring for your baby with you.
In this clip, Carla talks about the importance of going at your own pace.
Family Integrated Care (FICare) is a partnership between families and neonatal unit staff. The neonatal team is responsible for your baby’s medical care. There are lots of things you can do for your baby as their parent, for example:
bathing your baby
dressing your baby
mouth care for your baby
Bathing and dressing your baby and changing their nappy can be good ways to get involved with their care. These tasks are sometimes called ‘cares’.
It can feel daunting if your baby is very small or sick. Ask the staff on the unit about the best way to be involved.
In this clip, Elizabeth talks about being involved in her baby’s cares at her own pace.
If you cannot dress your baby, you can still get involved by choosing what clothes they wear. If your baby is not able to wear clothes, you could choose a blanket to keep near them.
We have more information on changing your baby's nappy on the neonatal unit.
There are different ways to feed your baby on the neonatal unit, including:
breastfeeding
bottle feeding
tube feeding – giving your baby milk through a tube that goes directly into their stomach
parenteral nutrition – giving your baby the nutrients they need through a cannula into their blood
Whatever kind of feeding your baby needs, there are ways you can get involved. Ask the healthcare professionals about the best options for you and your baby, and how to get support.
We have more information on feeding
Caring for your baby’s mouth can help prevent infections. It can also help you to bond with your baby.
The neonatal unit staff will show you how to provide mouth care for your baby. If you or your partner is expressing breast milk, it might be possible to use the early milk that is produced, called colostrum, for mouthcare. This is when a small amount of colostrum is gently applied to the inside of your baby’s mouth. The unit staff will show you how to do this safely. Mouth care with colostrum can help babies taste milk even before they are able to breastfeed or bottle-feed.
Touch is an important way to comfort your baby and bond with them.
We have more information on the different ways you can hold and touch your baby, including:
In this clip Chelsi talks about the first time she had skin to skin with her baby and how it made her feel.
Your baby might need to have some procedures as part of their medical care in the neonatal unit.
We have more information on the kind of tests and procedures your baby might need.
Healthcare professionals do everything they can to make procedures as comfortable as possible for your baby. But procedures can still cause your baby some distress. You can get involved by helping to comfort your baby during the procedure.
Depending on the procedure, you might be able to get involved in different ways. For example, you could:
Ask the healthcare professionals how you can get involved in a way that is safe and comforting for your baby.
Being close to your baby during the procedure can help. This is because your voice and your smell are comforting for your baby.
We have more information on getting involved with your baby's procedures.
As you spend time with your baby, you will get to know them better than anyone else. Your perspective, insights and instincts as your baby’s parent are a key part of their care.
A multidisciplinary team of health professionals will do ward rounds or ‘rounds’ once or twice every day. You can help by telling the healthcare professionals everything you’ve noticed about your baby. For example:
It’s also important to tell the healthcare professionals any instincts you have about how your baby is feeling. You know your baby best.
All this information will help the healthcare professionals plan what medical care your baby needs. You can be part of planning their care, for example deciding their daily schedule of things like:
In these clips Dawn and Jamie discuss the importance of trusting your instincts as a parent and advocating for your baby.
Many units run sessions for parents. They might cover topics like:
These sessions can be a good way to learn more, feel more confident, and meet other parents who understand what you’re going through.
If there’s anything you want to know more about, ask the healthcare professionals to explain it to you.
In these clips Carla and Shan discuss the knowledge they gained when they were with their baby on the unit and how this improved their confidence as parents.
Family Integrated Care (FICare) is a partnership between families and neonatal unit staff. It should be shaped around you and your family’s needs and preferences. Let the staff know if there’s anything that’s not working well for you and your family.
In this clip, Chelsi talks about the importance of advocating for your baby.
You can help the neonatal unit improve by giving them feedback about your experience. If you have any ideas about how things can be improved, let the staff know. Both positive and negative feedback are helpful.
The neonatal staff should not treat you or your baby differently if you give negative feedback. You can give feedback anonymously if you prefer.
You can give feedback:
The information in this section is due for review May 2029
If you have any feedback about this page, please email: [email protected]
