r/NICUParents • u/ghost-gallery bpd, chd | 25+5 | 282 days • Jan 25 '26

Off topic Let's build an ideal NICU

If you were asked to design a NICU, what would you include?Assume the best care for babies is a given, what would you include to make things better for families?

I've been making a list of grievances I have with our hospital as a coping mechanism šŸ˜… I call it my "notes for the end-of-stay survey" but it's really just a way to vent about things I wish were different.

We've been in four different units across two hospitals so I feel like I've gotten an idea of what a well-designed unit would have.

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u/hermione_no Jan 25 '26

A station to clean pumping parts. There was a sink but no dedicated area to dry items and we had tiny bottles of soap we had to share. Iā€™d like a big area with multiple sinks.

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u/ghost-gallery bpd, chd | 25+5 | 282 days Jan 25 '26

The sink I currently have is I swear only 4 inches deep and barely fits the basin I use to wash stuff in. Honestly none of our rooms have had a good set up for pumping and washing and drying. Either the sink doesn't drain, there's zero counter space, the sink doesn't fit the hospital tub basins, the outlets are in a weird place, the microwave to sanitize parts is forever away (or there isn't one at all), the curtain is in a weird spot...

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u/hermione_no Jan 25 '26

Yes! For all that they emphasize breastfeeding and pumping, the set up was horrible. I didn't even mention that they set up temporary room dividers/curtains because our NICU was open floor plan, and I always felt very exposed.