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Abstract

The impact of the NICU environment on the infant’s developing brain became evident to health care providers since many decades. The intrauterine environment protects the developing fetus against harsh outside stimulation while providing a variety of tactile, vestibular, chemical, hormonal, auditory and visual sensory stimuli in an integrated, optimum fashion. In contrast, prematurely born neonates and even some term newborns, exposed to fluctuations in hemodynamic vitals, temperature, touch, vestibular, gustatory, olfaction, noise, light, oxygen and nutrients, which can be very harmful on the developing brain and may permanently alter normal brain development. Moreover, uneventful events during delivery or neonatal sepsis, IVH, HIE and other illnesses can do the same harm to the neonatal developing brain and negatively affect the neurodevelopmental outcome of the NICU graduates. The concept of Neuro-NICU have emerged mainly in USA over the past few years in an attempt to protect the developing neonatal brain to ensure normal neurodevelopmental growth.

Biography

Mahmoud Saleh Elhalik is the Head of Pediatric Department and Neonatology, a clinical governance theoretical and practical concepts for maintaining and improving the quality of patient care. All the element of Clinical Governance has been implemented in our department including: Education and Training, Clinical Audit, Clinical Effectiveness, promotion of high standard of quality of care, Risk Management, Research, Publication, continues unit Development through review and approval of new equipments and therapies provided in the NICU and the Pediatric Department.

E-mail: mselhalik@dha.gov.ae