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Introduction What does IDM stand for? In the medical world, …

Podcast

Gestational Diabetes: From diagnosis in pregnancy to blood sugar management and its effect on the health of the mother and infant

by empoweringnicuparents

Introduction In our 18th episode of the Empowering NICU Parents …

Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants Podcast

Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in NICU Patients with Occupational Therapy – Part II

by empoweringnicuparents

Introduction If you are a current or former NICU parent, …

Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants NICU Knowledge NICU Products Podcast

Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in NICU Patients with Occupational Therapy

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 16 Introduction If you are a NICU parent, …

kangaroo care, skin-to-skin care, standing transfer, benefit, bonding, attachment

Free Resources NICU Knowledge Premature Infants

Standing Transfer for Kangaroo Care

by empoweringnicuparents

Standing transfer for kangaroo care Kangaroo care has become one …

kangaroo care, skin-to-skin care, attachment, barriers, transfer method

Free Resources NICU Knowledge Podcast Premature Infants

Kangaroo Care in the NICU: How to address the barriers, assess for readiness, and transfer the infant safely

by empoweringnicuparents

Introduction In our 15th podcast episode, we continue our discussion …

Free Resources Podcast Premature Infants

Kangaroo Care Log

by empoweringnicuparents

Kangaroo Care Log The time your infant spends in the …

kangaroo care, NICU, skin-to-skin care, benefits

Free Resources Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants NICU Knowledge Podcast

Kangaroo Care in the NICU: How Does it Benefit the Infant and the Parents?

by empoweringnicuparents

Introduction We are reviewing one of my favorite things, kangaroo …

maternal mental health, high risk pregnancy, NICU trauma, PTSD

Podcast

Supporting Maternal Mental Health in the NICU – Are We Doing Enough? Part II

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 13 Introduction Welcome to our 13th Podcast episode! …

Maternal Mental Health, support NICU, parents, infant, Anese Barnett

Podcast

Supporting Maternal Mental Health in the NICU – Are We Doing Enough?

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 12 Introduction In our 12th podcast, we focus …

@empoweringnicuparents

Nicole Nyberg

Empowering NICU Parents
-NICU Mom & NNP
-Podcast Host, Public Speaker
-Educate & Empower NICU parents & clinicians empoweringnicuparents@yahoo.com

Happy 4th of July!!! 🎆

Thank you to the care team members who are working over the holiday weekend.

To all the NICU and pediatric families who are spending their holiday in the hospital…we are thinking of you. ❤️🤍💙

#4thofjuly🇺🇸🇺🇸 #america250 #independenceday #nicuparents #nicunurse

What does it take to create meaningful, lasting change in the NICU?

The answer isn’t just more research. It’s turning research into action.

In this episode of the Empowering NICU Parents Podcast, I’m honored to welcome my friend and colleague, Fabiana Bacchini, Executive Director of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation and one of the world’s leading voices in family partnership and family-centered neonatal care.

Together, we share the story behind the Presence Study Toolkit—how the groundbreaking Presence Study evolved into a practical implementation guide that helps NICUs translate research into meaningful, sustainable practice change.

It was an incredible privilege to serve alongside Fabiana as one of the lead authors of this toolkit, working with an extraordinary team of clinicians, researchers, parent advocates, and healthcare leaders who shared one vision: helping NICUs move from evidence to action.

One of the most important messages from this episode is simple:
Parents are not visitors. They are essential caregivers.

And meaningful change doesn’t happen all at once.

Start with one chapter. One recommendation. One small change.

Because small changes, rooted in purpose and guided by the why, have the power to transform the NICU experience for generations of babies and families.

🎧 Listen to the episode and download the FREE Presence Study Toolkit from the Family-Centered Care Task Force website (link in my bio/comments).

Thank you to AngelEye Health for sponsoring the development of the toolkit and for their ongoing commitment to family-centered care and to ensuring NICU families are informed, involved, and supported.

Together, we can create a better NICU experience for every babyand every family.

#nicubaby #nicunurse #nicuparents #nicumom #familycentered

Calling all current and former NICU parents!

Your experience can help improve how educational information is shared with NICU families.

We’re looking to better understand how much information is most helpful, when parents prefer to receive it, and how to make education more personalized without becoming overwhelming.

The survey takes just 3 minutes to complete, and as a thank you, you’ll have the chance to win one of four $25 Amazon gift cards!

Please take a moment to complete the survey and help improve the experience for future NICU families.

Scan the QR code to take the Survey!

Thank you for helping us make a difference, one family at a time.

#nicubaby #nicuparent #nicujourney #nicumom #nicugrad

To the dads who stood beside a NICU bed, held onto hope, and loved fiercely through every challenge—

Happy Father’s Day.

Your strength, presence, and unwavering love have made a lasting difference in your child’s story. 💙

#fathersday #fatherslove #nicudad #nicuparents #nicujourney

The Presence Study Toolkit is now available as a FREE resource on the Family-Centered Care Task Force website. 🤍

As a primary author and Co-Advocacy Chair for the Family-Centered Care Taskforce, I am incredibly honored to have helped bring this meaningful project to life alongside such an inspiring group of contributors.

Created through an extraordinary collaboration of 23 expert authors, this toolkit was designed to help NICU leaders, care teams, and families adopt a more family-centered approach to care grounded in 13 evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study.

Proudly sponsored by AngelEye Health, this work reflects a shared commitment to supporting families, strengthening parental presence, and advancing family-centered NICU care.

What makes this toolkit especially meaningful is that every chapter was intentionally co-developed by both family and healthcare partners.

Family advocates, clinicians, researchers, healthcare leaders, and parents came together to ensure the content reflects not only clinical realities, but also the lived experiences of families navigating the NICU journey.

Because parental presence is not extra care.

Presence is care.

This toolkit is more than a resource. It is a call to continue building NICU environments where families are informed, supported, included, and empowered as essential members of the care team.

I am deeply grateful to every author, contributor, family partner, and leader who helped make this possible. I truly believe this work has the power to create meaningful change for NICU families and clinicians across the world.

Download the FREE Presence Study Toolkit on the FCC Taskforce website and help foster parental presence as an essential part of everyday NICU care. 🤍#nicuparents #familycenteredcare #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicucare

I’m incredibly proud of the launch of the Presence Study Toolkit by the Family-Centered Care Taskforce. 💙

As the FCC Taskforce Co-Chair of Advocacy, it was truly an honor to serve as one of the primary authors of this resource and to see it come to fruition after months of collaboration and dedication from an incredible team of clinicians, researchers, and parent partners.

This work is especially meaningful to me because it helps translate evidence into action—providing practical, evidence-based strategies to support parental presence, engagement, and true partnership in the NICU.

At its heart is a message I deeply believe in: parents are not visitors, they are essential caregivers.

The toolkit translates the evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study into practical strategies that NICUs can use to strengthen family-centered care and parental engagement.

Whether you’re a NICU clinician, leader, advocate, or parent, this free resource is packed with valuable insights and actionable tools.

If you haven’t downloaded it yet, I encourage you to take a look and share it with others who are passionate about improving the NICU experience for babies and families.#nicuparents #nicubaby #nicunurse #empoweringnicuparents #nicumom

Stillness is strength. 💚

In the NICU, some of the most powerful moments happen in the quiet.

A parent holding their baby skin-to-skin.

Tiny fingers wrapped around a parent’s finger.

Hearts regulating together.

Slow, quiet breaths.

Safety being felt.

That is the power of kangaroo care.

These are not small moments.
They are monumental moments that help shape the foundation of an infant’s future — supporting bonding, brain development, regulation, healing, and connection.

Today on International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, we celebrate the beauty and importance of skin-to-skin care for babies and families everywhere.

Join the movement: Share your skin-to-skin photo. Promote kangaroo care. 💚
Advocate for parental presence and connection in the NICU — today and every day.

#kangaroocare #nicuparents #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicumom

What happens in the NICU follows our children home.

There are hundreds of moments during a NICU stay— moments that feel routine… moments that feel small… and even moments where I didn’t like what I saw, but felt hesitant to speak up—as both a clinician and a parent in my own NICU.

And over time, I’ve seen how those moments have shown up in my son.

That’s the part we don’t always talk about.

In this episode, I share both the science and the lived experience behind how NICU care shapes brain development, behavior, and long-term outcomes—and more importantly, what we can do about it.

We also walk through tangible, practical ways to support neuroprotective, developmentally appropriate, family-centered care.

Because the goal isn’t just survival.

It’s how we help these children live beyond it.

Whether you are a NICU parent or a clinician—this one matters.

🎧 Link in bio

#nicuparents #nicunurse #nicupodcast #nicugrad #nicubaby

Happy Mother’s Day.

There are mothers to children they have given birth to.
 There are mothers who may not be considered biological, but cannot fathom life without their children in it.
 There are mothers who stepped into motherhood through marriage and love.
 There are mothers who never had the opportunity to meet their child because they left this world too soon.
 There are mothers who have had to bear the unimaginable and somehow learn to move forward without their child beside them anymore.
 There are mothers who dream of being mothers, but have not yet had that opportunity—or may never experience it in the way they once hoped.

Motherhood comes in so many different forms. It does not take pregnancy or birth to be a mother, but it does take a strong, resilient, compassionate, patient, and incredible woman. And I am blessed to know so many.

To the NICU mamas, the bereaved mamas, the waiting mamas, the foster and adoptive mamas, the bonus mamas, and the women carrying a mother’s love in their hearts in ways the world may never fully see—you are seen, you are valued, and you are fiercely loved. 🤍

#mothersday #motherslove❤️ #mothersheart #nicumom #bereavedmother

The Presence Study Toolkit: Helping NICUs Translate Evidence into Practice

Beyond the NICU: How Small Moments Shape a Developing Brain

The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents

Infant of Diabetic Mother: What are the potential complications and typical treatment plan?

Gestational Diabetes: From diagnosis in pregnancy to blood sugar management and its effect on the health of the mother and infant

Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in NICU Patients with Occupational Therapy – Part II

Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in NICU Patients with Occupational Therapy

Standing Transfer for Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo Care in the NICU: How to address the barriers, assess for readiness, and transfer the infant safely

Kangaroo Care Log

Kangaroo Care in the NICU: How Does it Benefit the Infant and the Parents?

Supporting Maternal Mental Health in the NICU – Are We Doing Enough? Part II

Supporting Maternal Mental Health in the NICU – Are We Doing Enough?

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Nicole Nyberg

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