The Importance of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners in Providing Holistic Care for New Mothers

Neonatal nurses provide care for high-need newborns. Often, their patients are born prematurely, or with some other major complication. The prognosis for the infant is usually not very good when a neonatal nurse practitioner is brought into the room. 

Technically, the child is their patient. However, they wind up working very closely with new parents as well, often serving as an approachable gateway between them and the healthcare system. It is the neonatal nurse practitioner who will answer their questions and often provide comfort during what can be the most challenging part of their lives. 

In this article, we provide an overview of what roles nurse practitioners play in the healthcare system, including how they can often provide holistic care for new mothers. 

Holistic Care for New Mothers

Holistic care takes into account the entire person. Their mind, their body, whatever that individual considers their “spirit,” to be. In the context of nurse practitioners and their interactions with new parents, there are two things to keep in mind:

• The mother is not their patient. They will certainly see a lot of mom, but they are not technically treating her. Still, it is the parents who will receive health updates and ask questions about their child’s health status. 
• Holistic care is not necessarily part of the job description. Western medicine is very clinical. Nurses are not always trained in holistic care, which means they are making an active choice when they incorporate elements of it into their routine. 

Most neonatal nurses understand that while the child is their patient, interacting with the parents is a core part of their responsibilities. To engage with them holistically is to understand their anxieties, and make time for them during every interaction. Answer their questions. Explain things exhaustively. Be patient even when the parents are ill-tempered, or actively hostile. 

It’s important to keep in mind that neonatal nurse practitioners are usually walking into people’s lives during the worst imaginable circumstances. Few situations are more emotionally charged than the birth of a child. When complications do emerge, parents are justifiably on edge. 

Nurse practitioners can radically shape how parents experience this daunting situation. 

Steps neonatal NPs could follow to provide holistic care to parents include:

• Involving them in the infant treatment as much as possible. Make sure that the parent feels informed. Allow them to take an active role in any choices that are appropriate for them to make. This will give the parent a sense of control and allow them to feel like they are contributing to their child’s care. 
• Demonstrate empathy. Neonatal nurse practitioners need to understand that they are entering a parent’s worst nightmare. Empathy can be as simple as a kind word and a caring demeanor. Little things can make a big difference. 
• Provide individualized care. One of the biggest and most common complaints people have with Western healthcare is that patients often do not feel like individuals in the eyes of their care providers. By taking a nuanced and personalized approach to patient care, NPs can help improve the overall parent experience. 

It’s simple things that will ultimately be the most impactful where dealing with parents is concerned. 

As you can imagine, being a neo-natal nurse practitioner is difficult work that won’t be right for everyone. In the next heading, we will walk you through the process of what it takes to become a neonatal NP. 

Becoming an NP

Nurse practitioners all begin their journeys by getting their BSN— the bachelor’s degree associated with a nursing license. From there, they go on to pass the NCLEX and usually spend at least a few years working in a hospital. 

This latter step is usually optional— you can enroll in graduate school immediately after completing your BSN— but it isn’t a bad idea to log some time in the trenches first. Gaining work experience will help you get a better idea of what you like and don’t like about medicine. Neonatal nursing is about as high stakes as a clinical work environment can get. It’s not possible to know how you will respond to that pressure as a student. 

Gaining experience will help ensure that you are making a choice that truly aligns with your preferences. You don’t want to go through all of the trouble of becoming certified as a nurse practitioner only to realize that neonatal nursing is not a good fit for you. 

The other nice thing about waiting until you’ve worked for a few years is that you may receive tuition assistance from your employer. This can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. 

Completing a master’s degree usually takes 2-3 years assuming a traditional pace. However, you should note that many people—particularly those already working as nurses—will go at a slower pace. 

The key is to find a timeline that makes sense to you. It won’t do any good at all to overcommit and then burn out a year into your degree. 

Conclusion

Neonatal nurse practitioners have the opportunity to lead rewarding careers. Their pay breaks into the six-figure range, and they usually have a lot more freedom than regular nurses. That freedom comes with greater responsibility. 

Not everyone is built to make choices that will determine if a baby lives or dies. It’s an incredible amount of pressure. You may decide that the job simply is not for you. Here’s one thing to keep in mind though: babies that wind up in front of a neonatal nurse practitioner are sick no matter what.

Seeing it firsthand is hard, but it also gives you the chance to make a difference. If you are interested in meaningful work that can help keep families in one piece, consider becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner.