Key takeaways
- You don’t need to learn every term. Ask your baby’s nurse to explain anything you hear — you are part of the care team.
- Many NICU words are about breathing (apnea, CPAP, ventilator), feeding (gavage, TPN, fortifier), and monitoring (pulse ox, desat).
- Some conditions on this list are common in premature babies; hearing a word doesn’t mean your baby has that condition.
- Each term has its own link, so you can share a single definition with family.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Every baby is different — talk with your baby’s NICU team or pediatrician about what is right for your family.
New to the NICU? Start with what to expect in the NICU, or read about what NICU levels of care mean.
NICU terms A–Z
A
- A’s and B’s
- Shorthand for apnea and bradycardia — pauses in breathing and slow heart rates, which often happen together in premature babies.
- Anemia
- Not having enough red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. It’s one of the problems premature babies can have.
- Apgar score
- A quick check done soon after birth that scores how well a newborn is adjusting to life outside the womb.
- Apnea
- A pause in breathing that lasts longer than about 15 to 20 seconds, or a shorter pause that comes with a slow heart rate or a change in skin color. It’s common in premature babies.
B
- Bilirubin (“bili”)
- A yellow waste product made when the body breaks down red blood cells. Too much of it in the blood causes jaundice.
- Blood gas
- A blood test that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acid levels in the blood to show how well your baby is breathing.
- BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia)Also called: Chronic lung disease (CLD)
- A longer-lasting lung condition in newborns. It mostly affects babies born very early — usually before 32 weeks — and babies who needed a breathing machine or high levels of oxygen for a long time. RSV after the NICU
- Bradycardia (“brady”)
- A heart rate that’s slower than normal for a baby. Brief bradys often happen along with apnea in premature babies.
C
- Caffeine
- A medicine given to premature babies to help stimulate breathing and to treat or prevent apnea. It can shorten the time a baby needs help breathing.
- Car seat challengeAlso called: Car seat test
- A check before discharge, recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for babies born before 37 weeks. Your baby is buckled into the car seat you’ll use while staff monitor oxygen level, breathing, and heart rate — for at least 90 minutes, or longer if the drive home is long. Bringing your NICU baby home
- Central line
- A special IV line that ends in a large vein close to the heart. It can deliver nutrition and medicines. A PICC line is one type.
- Chronological age
- Your baby’s age counted from the day they were born — their age by the calendar. Corrected age calculator
- Colostrum
- The first, yellowish breast milk, made in late pregnancy and the first few days after birth. It’s rich in nutrients and antibodies.
- Corrected ageAlso called: Adjusted age
- The age your baby would be if they had been born on their due date: their age since birth minus the weeks they were born early. It’s used to set expectations for milestones in the first couple of years. Corrected age calculator
- CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
- Gentle, steady air pressure delivered through small prongs in the nose to keep the airways and lungs from collapsing. Your baby still does the breathing; the pressure helps keep things open.
D
- Desat (desaturation)
- A drop in the oxygen level in your baby’s blood, shown on the pulse oximeter.
- Donor milk
- Breast milk from carefully screened donors that has been pasteurized by an accredited milk bank. Some NICUs offer it while a mom’s own supply builds, or keep using it for the most fragile babies. Donating breast milk in the Treasure Valley
E
- Echocardiogram (“echo”)
- An ultrasound of the heart. It’s the test used to confirm a PDA.
- Extubation
- Taking out the breathing tube once a baby no longer needs it.
F
- Fortifier (human milk fortifier, HMF)
- A sterile supplement mixed into breast milk or donor milk to add extra protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals. It’s most often used for babies born before 34 weeks.
G
- Gavage feedingAlso called: Tube feeding
- Feeding breast milk or formula through a small tube that goes through the nose or mouth into the stomach, for babies who aren’t ready to feed by mouth yet. See NG tube / OG tube.
- Gestational age
- How far along the pregnancy was when your baby was born, in weeks and days. A full-term pregnancy is about 40 weeks, so a baby born 10 weeks early has a gestational age of 30 weeks.
H
- Head ultrasound (HUS)
- A painless test that uses sound waves to look at your baby’s brain. Babies born before 30 weeks are screened this way for IVH in the first days of life.
- High-flow nasal cannulaAlso called: HHFNC, humidified high flow
- Warm, humidified air pushed through soft prongs in the nose at a higher flow, which creates gentle pressure to help open the lungs.
- Hypoglycemia
- Lower-than-normal sugar (glucose) in the blood. It’s one of the problems premature babies can have.
I
- IncubatorAlso called: Isolette
- A clear, enclosed bed with its own heating system that keeps a baby warm and gives them a quiet, clean space. What to expect in the NICU
- Intubation
- Placing a breathing tube (endotracheal tube, or ETT) into the windpipe so air can reach the lungs, usually so a ventilator can help.
- IV (intravenous line)
- A small, thin tube placed in a vein to give fluids and medicines.
- IVH (intraventricular hemorrhage)
- Bleeding into the fluid-filled spaces (ventricles) inside the brain. Babies born more than 10 weeks early are at highest risk. It usually happens in the first several days of life and is checked with a head ultrasound.
J
- Jaundice
- A yellow color to the skin and the whites of the eyes, caused by too much bilirubin. It’s one of the problems premature babies can have, and phototherapy is used to treat it.
K
- Kangaroo careAlso called: Skin-to-skin
- Holding your baby with their bare skin directly on your bare chest, often under a shirt or blanket. Kangaroo care in the NICU
L
- Low birth weight (LBW)
- A birth weight under 5 pounds, 8 ounces (2,500 grams), whether a baby is born early or at full term.
M
- MonitorAlso called: Cardiorespiratory monitor
- The bedside screen that continuously tracks your baby’s heart rate, breathing, oxygen level, and sometimes blood pressure.
N
- Nasal cannula
- Thin tubing with soft prongs that sit just inside the nose and deliver extra oxygen.
- NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis)
- A serious condition in which part of the intestine becomes damaged and the tissue dies. It mainly affects premature or very sick babies. The exact cause isn’t known; babies fed formula instead of human milk are at higher risk.
- Neonatologist
- A pediatrician with special training in newborn intensive care.
- Newborn screen
- A blood test given to newborns that checks for a number of rare but serious conditions.
- NG tube / OG tube
- Feeding tubes. An NG (nasogastric) tube goes in through the nose and an OG (orogastric) tube through the mouth; both end in the stomach. They’re used for gavage feeding and to let out air.
- Nitric oxide
- A gas that helps widen blood vessels. It’s commonly used for babies with PPHN.
- NPO
- From the Latin “nil per os” — nothing by mouth. A baby who is NPO gets no feedings or medicines by mouth for a while.
P
- PDA (patent ductus arteriosus)
- Before birth, a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus lets blood skip the lungs. It usually closes within a couple of days after birth; a PDA is when it stays open. A small PDA may cause no symptoms. It’s diagnosed with an echocardiogram.
- PhototherapyAlso called: Bili lights
- Special lights placed over your baby to help the body break down extra bilirubin and treat jaundice.
- PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter)
- A long, thin tube put into a vein in the arm or leg and threaded into a larger vein near the heart. It delivers medicines and IV nutrition.
- Postmenstrual age (PMA)
- Gestational age at birth plus the weeks since birth. A baby born at 30 weeks who is 8 weeks old has a postmenstrual age of 38 weeks. You may hear it while your baby is still in the NICU, before their due date.
- PPHN (persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn)
- A condition in which blood has trouble flowing to the lungs to pick up oxygen.
- PrematureAlso called: Preterm, preemie
- Born before 37 full weeks of pregnancy — more than 3 weeks before the due date.
- Pulse oximeter (“pulse ox”)
- A small sensor, usually wrapped around a foot or hand, that shows the oxygen level in your baby’s blood.
R
- Radiant warmer
- An open bed with a radiant heater that keeps a newborn warm while giving the care team easy, immediate access.
- RDS (respiratory distress syndrome)
- A breathing problem in premature babies whose lungs don’t yet make enough surfactant, so the tiny air sacs tend to collapse. Treatment can include oxygen, CPAP, surfactant medicine, and sometimes a ventilator.
- Retractions
- When the chest pulls in around the ribs with each breath — a sign that a baby is working hard to breathe.
- Room air
- Ordinary air, which is 21% oxygen. A baby who is “on room air” doesn’t need extra oxygen.
- ROP (retinopathy of prematurity)
- Abnormal growth of the tiny blood vessels at the back of the eye (the retina) in babies born early. Babies born before 30 weeks or weighing less than 3 pounds are screened with eye exams, because finding and treating it early matters most.
- RSV (respiratory syncytial virus)
- A common respiratory virus that can cause serious breathing problems in young babies, especially those born early or with chronic lung disease. RSV after the NICU
S
- Sepsis
- An infection in the blood. A “septic workup” is the set of lab tests used to look for one.
- SGA (small for gestational age)
- A baby who is smaller than normal for their gestational age — most commonly defined as a birth weight below the 10th percentile.
- Surfactant
- A slippery substance in the lungs that helps them fill with air and keeps the air sacs from collapsing. Premature babies may not have enough, so it can be given as a medicine directly into the airway.
T
- TPN (total parenteral nutrition)
- Nutrition given through an IV — calories, protein, sugar, fat, vitamins, and minerals — for babies who can’t yet get everything they need from feedings.
- Trophic feeds
- Very small feedings that help prepare the gut for larger amounts of milk.
U
- UAC / UVC (umbilical lines)
- Soft, thin tubes placed in an artery (UAC) or vein (UVC) of the umbilical cord. They can be used to give fluids and medicines, draw blood, and monitor blood pressure.
V
- VentilatorAlso called: Respirator, breathing machine
- A machine connected to a breathing tube that helps a baby breathe when they’re too sick, weak, or small to do it on their own.
It’s always okay to ask
Nobody expects you to arrive knowing this vocabulary. If a word comes up on rounds or at the bedside that you don’t understand, ask the nurse or doctor to explain it — and to tell you what it means for your baby specifically. Writing questions down as they come up can help.
When it’s time to go home, our guide to bringing your NICU baby home walks through the steps, and our Treasure Valley NICU resources page lists local support for families.
Was this helpful?
We’re a small local nonprofit. Every year we deliver care baskets to NICU moms in Boise and the Treasure Valley — and every gift helps us reach one more mom.
Sources
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Glossary
- UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals — Intensive Care Nursery Glossary
- Hand to Hold — NICU Glossary
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Premature infant
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Intraventricular hemorrhage of the newborn
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Retinopathy of prematurity
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Necrotizing enterocolitis
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Patent ductus arteriosus
- MedlinePlus (NIH) — Small for gestational age
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital — Preemie 101 (gestational, postmenstrual, and corrected age)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) — Corrected Age for Preemies
- Connecticut Children’s — Newborn Hospital Nutrition: A Guide for NICU Families
- Cleveland Clinic — Preemies in car seats
- Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network — Humidified high flow nasal cannula (HHFNC) therapy factsheet