Caring for a Preemie at Home: Tips for Parents

Bringing your premature baby home from the hospital is an exciting milestone — and caring for a preemie at home can also feel overwhelming. After days, weeks or even months of support from your baby’s care team, it’s normal to wonder whether you’re ready to manage feedings, sleep, visitors, breathing concerns and follow-up appointments on your own.

Your Premature Baby Is Healthy Enough to Come Home

The good news: Your baby is coming home because the care team believes they are healthy enough to leave the hospital. However, premature babies, also called preemies, may need a little extra attention at home because some parts of their bodies are still developing.

Preemies are born before 37 weeks gestation, which means that their lungs, digestive, and immune systems, and even their skin may be underdeveloped. This leaves them at a higher risk of contracting infections or getting sick. 

You don’t need to have every answer before you walk through the door. But knowing what to watch for and when to ask for help can make the transition from hospital to home feel safer and more manageable. These tips can help you care for your preemie with more confidence.

Caring for a Preemie After the NICU

Keep Visitors and Traveling to a Minimum

While your baby is healthy enough to come home, you still want to be sure you're keeping your preemie away from germs as much as possible. Your baby's immune system is still quite delicate, so you want to avoid passing the baby around at parties or taking road trips to the mall or venues with a lot of people. It's important to avoid anyone who is obviously sick, but even people who are healthy need to wash their hands just before handling the baby.

Follow Safe Sleep Guidelines for Your Preemie 

Premature infants are at a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, so it's important to place your baby on their back when putting them down to sleep on a flat surface.

• They should sleep in their own sleep space, such as a crib or pack and play.
• They can sleep in the same room but not in the same bed as adults. 
• There should not be fluffy objects, like stuffed animals, blankets or even burp cloths in their sleep space. 

Schedule Follow-Up Appointments

Premature babies may need follow-up care with specialists, in addition to seeing the pediatrician for well visits. Before you leave the hospital, talk to your baby's doctor about what specialists your baby needs to see. It can help to have follow-up appointments made before leaving the hospital.

Know What to Do if Your Preemie Gets Sick 

Know how to call your pediatric provider when your preemie is sick. Some preemies may also have a plan to take medications when they are sick. 

Ask Questions and Get Support

Reach out to friends and family to help if you can. Friends and family can help with household tasks, caring for the baby and providing loving support to parents when things are tough. 

Got questions? Ask! It's likely that your baby's hospital care team has invited you to call back at any time with questions, but it doesn't hurt to ask up front about anything you're not sure about. How often should your baby eat or have a bowel movement? Should your baby spend any time on his/her tummy? If you've got questions, they've likely got the answers, so ask away. You'll be glad you did!

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