NICU Dictionary

When your newborn is admitted to the NICU, it's natural to be overcome, not just with emotion, fear, and grief, but also by the constant over-stimulus. The blinking lights and monitors and the beeping of machines echo constantly. And every morning, a team of Neonatologists and other specialists enter your room and start speaking what sounds like a foreign language.

During the first week of our NICU stay, our care team assured us that by the time we went home, we'd be fluent. And they were right, but we always wished we'd had a NICU dictionary to give us a kickstart in those early days.

We hope this dictionary will be a resource to parents like us.

A/B/D's - 

Actual Age - 

Adjusted Age or Corrected Age - 

Aeration - 

Amino Acids (AA) - 

Anemia -

Apgar Score - 

Apnea - 

Aspiration - 

Bagging - 

Bili Lights or Phototherapy - 

Bilirubin - 

Blood Gas - 

Bolus - 

Bowel Gas Pattern - 

BP (Blood Pressure) - 

BPD (Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia) - 

Bradycardia or "Brady" - 

Brain Bleed - 

Caffeine - 

Cares - 

Car Seat Test - 

CBC (Complete Blood Count) - 

CC - 

Central Line (CVL) - 

Charge Nurse - 

Chest Tube - 

Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) - 

CO2 - 

Colostrum - 

Congenital - 

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) - 

"Crit" or Hematrocrit (HCT) - 

CRP (C-Reactive Protein) - 

CT Scan - 

Culture - 

Day of Life - 

DC - 

Desaturation or "Desat" - 

Diuretic - 

Echocardiogram or "Echo" - 

Edema - 

Electrolytes or "Lytes" - 

Emesis - 

Endotracheal Tube - 

Events - 

Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) - 

Extremely Low Birth Weight - 

Extubation - 

Fortifier - 

Full Term - 

Gavage - 

Gestational Age - 

Glucose - 

Glucose Infusion Rate (GIR) - 

Glycerin Suppositories - 

Gravity Feeds - 

G Tube - 

Head Ultrasound - 

Heel Stick - 

Hernia - 

High-Frequency or "Jet" Ventilator - 

Humidity Protocol - 

Hyperthyroid - 

Hyperglycemia - 

Hypothyroid - 

I's and O's - 

Intralipids (IL) - 

Immunocompromised or Immunodeficient - 

Infiltrated IV - 

Intervention - 

Intubation - 

Isolette or Incubator - 

Jaundice - 

Kangaroo Care - 

kcal - 

Lactation Consultant - 

Leads - 

Lines - 

Lipids - 

Lumbar Puncture (LP) or Spinal Tap - 

Low Birth Weight - 

Meconium - 

Meconium Aspiration - 

Meningitis - 

Micropreemie - 

Monitor - 

Mottled Skin - 

MRI - 

Nasal Cannula - 

NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) - 

Neonatologist - 

Newborn Screen (PKU) - 

NG Tube - 

Nitric Oxide - 

NNP (Neonatal Nurse Practitioner) - 

NPO - 

Occupational Therapist (OT) - 

Open Crib - 

Palm Pulse - 

PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) or Heart Murmur - 

PDA Ligation - 

PEEP (Positive End-Expiratory Pressure) - 

Physical Therapist (PT) - 

Platelets - 

PICC - 

PIP (Peak Inspiratory Pressure) - 

Pneumothorax or Collapsed Lung - 

Post-PDA Ligation Syndrome - 

Preemie - 

Primary Nurse - 

"Prime the Gut" - 

PRN - 

Pulse Oximeter or "Pulse Ox" - 

Q - 

Resuscitation - 

Reflux - 

Renal Function Panel (RFP) - 

Renal Stenosis - 

Repogle Tube - 

Residuals - 

Restricted Feedings - 

Retracting - 

Room Air - 

RSV - 

Sedation - 

Seizure - 

Sepsis or Septic - 

Shunting - 

Spell - 

Stimulation or "Stim" - 

Suctioning - 

Surfactant - 

Synagis - 

Tachycardia - 

TCOM - 

Thrombocytopenia - 

Touch Times - 

TPN - 

Transfusion - 

Trophic Feeds (TF) - 

Respiratory Therapist (RT) - 

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) - 

UAC (Umbilical Arterial Catheter) - 

UVC (Umbilical Venous Catheter) - 

Ventilator or "Vent" - 

Venting - 

Very Low Birth Weight - 

Wean - 

White Blood Cell Count (WBC) -