Word parts
What it means
Describes the first four weeks of life, the neonatal period, when the baby adapts to breathing, feeding and keeping warm outside the womb. A newborn in this period is a neonate. Common terms are the neonatal intensive care unit (NICUNIK-yoo, or en-eye-see-YOONeonatal intensive care unit: a hospital unit that cares for newborns who are sick or born early.Full entry ), neonatal jaundice and neonatal abstinence syndrome (withdrawal in a baby exposed to drugs before birth).
For the nurse
Newborns lose heat quickly: dry the baby, use skin-to-skin contact or a warmer, and cover the head.
At a glance
| Spanish | neonatal |
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Related terms
prenatal care
Health care for a pregnant person and the unborn baby during pregnancy, before birth.
NICU
Neonatal intensive care unit: a hospital unit that cares for newborns who are sick or born early.
fetal heart rate
The number of times the unborn baby's heart beats per minute.
necrotizing enterocolitis
A serious illness, mainly of premature babies, in which part of the bowel becomes inflamed and its tissue begins to die.