Developmental care: making your NICU a gentler place.

Over the years, the nursing care provided at Women's College Hospital in Toronto has broadened to become increasingly holistic. Our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has kept pace. Seven years ago we introduced the philosophy of developmental care in the NICU, and it has continued to evolve ever since. This framework of care not only makes us more effective in meeting the neurodevelopmental needs of preterm infants, it also leads to enhanced relationships between parents and their babies.