RT Book, Section A1 Malcolm, William F. SR Print(0) ID 1105545759 T1 Neonatal Palliative Care T2 Beyond the NICU: Comprehensive Care of the High-Risk Infant YR 2015 FD 2015 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-174858-2 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105545759 RD 2024/03/28 AB Comprehensive careNeonatal palliative care is a modality of medical treatment that focuses not only on the physical aspects of disease but also on alleviating suffering and promoting the developmental, emotional, spiritual, and sociocultural well-being of the infant and his/her family.It is appropriate for infants at all stages of the disease process, from birth to death or discharge, and it can be continued at home.Palliative care is different than end-of-life care and is not hospice care.Promotes comfortIt promotes the provision of comfort care with meticulous treatment of pain and other symptoms that interfere with the infant's quality of life.It promotes infant activities directed to comfort, such as increasing the time spent with parents, kangaroo care, infant massage, and music therapy, while supporting the developmental needs of the infant.Promotes communicationIt furthers good communication with families, helping with decision making and defining goals of care.New concept of palliative care in neonatesAs a new area of neonatal medicine, most palliative care guidelines and protocols that are currently being developed apply to the newborn with life-threatening conditions.The majority of deaths in the neonatal intensive care unit occur soon after birth; among very low birthweight infants (≤1500 g), 51% of the deaths occur in the first 3 days of life.Palliative care for the convalescent newborn infant is a novel concept.