© 2024 Central Florida Public Media. All Rights Reserved.
90.7 FM Orlando • 89.5 FM Ocala
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Patients Get a Little Extra Compassion and Necessary Health Screenings During New Rounds Program

Mothers and fathers of premature babies in the NICU need a little extra care as well, especially when it comes to mental well being. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

Florida Hospital is screening for postpartum depression in parents of babies in the neo-natal intensive care unit. Chaplain Jocelyn Shaw says a team of a physicians, nurses, counselors and chaplains ask questions to get at the patient’s overall physical and mental health.

“Our patients in the NICU have no voice because they’re babies.  But their parents have a very loud voice. Our babies don’t speak but their parents have a lot to say.”

A recent study in the Journal of Perinatology found 25 percent of mothers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after having a baby in the NICU.

If you'd like to listen to the full story, please click on the clip above.

Danielle Prieur covers education in Central Florida.