The Daily Rollercoaster

To help give a better understanding of the daily rollercoaster ride in the NICU, below is an image of the monitors that measure heart rates, oxygen saturation and respiratory rates. When the oxygen level dips below 84, a yellow alarm will blink and sound. If it continues after a period to be below that number, a red alarm will blink and sound - with more urgency. This is the "desat" and the nurses will either wait to see if the babies can increase the numbers themselves, turn up their oxygen percent on the ventilator, or give them some manual breaths through a button on the ventilator. Watching the constant ups and downs, and hearing all the dings of the machines can be worrying. Often just by changing a diaper, the oxygen saturation will dip when the baby gets agitated. The machine will also alert you if the oxygen level is too high and can be turned down. Alarms will also sound for heart rates that are too high (often from a dose of albuterol) or too low (which sometimes accompanies apnea) although this happens more rarely. We see the ups and downs constantly and have learned to try and comfort our babies, not touch them, or go ahead and put our hands into the isolette depending on their numbers at the moment.