Welcome to the Little Steps NICU Program
Our baby came too soon! What now?
Having a premature baby is a nerve-racking experience and you may feel very vulnerable at the moment. Your baby should have been going home with you and not stay in hospital and therefore you want to do everything within your power to enable you to take your baby home as soon as possible. This program is research-based and developed for the South African context. It will provide you with the basic information that you will need when your baby is admitted to the NICU. However, for more detailed information we recommend that you read Prematurity – Adjusting your Dream by Welma Lubbe.
The aim of this website is to empower you with the knowledge you will
require to be able to cope with your situation and care for your baby.
Your baby will be required to reach certain milestones prior to
discharge. By following the guidelines of this program, you will be able
to better interpret your baby's unique language and nurture him/her
in growing and reaching the goals set for your baby. The most important
goal of this website is to help you realise that this little person is
yours. He/she does not belong to the hospital, although it may feel
like it at times. Little StepsTM wants to help you to take on your
parenting role from the day you preterm baby is born. You will be
expected to be able to take care of your baby's needs on a day to day
basis, to comfort and calm your baby, change diapers and clothes and
feed your baby as often as possible or required. These are just a few.
This program will help you to: 
- Know the most common procedures and equipment in the NICU that assist in caring for your baby
- Be able to recognise the stress cues of your preterm baby
- Know what actions to take to attempt to calm your baby
- Care for your premmie in skin-to-skin/Kangaroo position and know the benefits thereof
- Feed your premmie and
- Know where and what to look for should you require additional information.
Should you immediately wish to continue with the program, you can register now. Non-registered visitors may view some of the general information to evaluate the program prior to registration.
Note: Little StepsTM aims to provide you with as much information as possible. A panel of healthcare professionals in the field of prematurity updates Little Steps™ information. However, information from linked websites are not guaranteed to be correct, and Little Steps™ does not take responsibility if these websites are not in working order or not accessible for whatever reason.
A special thanks is extended to parents and their premmies, Children’s Medical Ventures, Standupgirl.com and their researchers: Professor Andrzej Skawina and Dr. Antoni Marsinek, MD for photographs to demonstrate some very important aspects.
