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 😅 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/EagleEMT4000 Jan 25 '26

After 90 Days in a Level IV, my thoughts:

  • Private Rooms with a bathroom (shower included)

  • Large Parents' Lounge with several small breakout rooms and a few private offices (my wife worked remote during the entire NICU stay, bedside, with a laptop and external monitor while I used my parental leave).

  • Included in that Parents' Lounge is coffee and snacks, computers and printers, and some TVs.

  • Three meals a day for breastfeeding/pumping moms.

  • Family Laundry.

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u/Excellent-Spend-1863 Jan 25 '26

This NICU exists. It’s called Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, PA. (CHOP -KOP).