by Dawn K. Gibson, LCSW When you initially became pregnant,
birthing your baby and having him or her whisked away to the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by hospital staff was most
likely not in your plan. Many parents know that bonding after
childbirth is important for both parents and baby, and you may
have had some ideas about what this meant to you. You might have
visualized yourself holding your baby right after the birth,
looking into his or her eyes lovingly, or just lying skin-to-
skin for a time. No matter what your vision, the reality of
birthing a medically fragile infant is typically very different
from these images. You may not have been able to hold, let alone
touch, your baby right away and you may now be worried that you
have lost a major opportunity to bond with your baby. Please
know that this is not true. There are many other ways to bond
with your baby – even during his or her NICU stay. Bonding is a
Process Bonding will look different for each individual family
due to each baby’s unique