Is Less Noise, Light and Parental/Caregiver Stress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Better for Neonates

ABSTRACT

In utero sensory stimuli and interaction with the environment strongly influence early phases of fetal and infant development. Extremelypremature infants are subjected to noxious procedures and routine monitoring, in addition to exposure to excessive light and noise, whichdisturb the natural sleep cycle and induce stress. Non-invasive ventilation, measures to prevent sepsis, and human milk feeding improveshort-term and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in premature infants. To preserve brain function, and to improve quality of lifeand long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, the focus now is on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment and its impact onthe infant during hospital stay. The objectives of this write-up are to understand the effects of environmental factors, including lighting andnoise in the NICU, on sensory development of the infant, the need to decrease parental and caregiver stress, and to review existingliterature, local policies and recommendations: