Nurses allowing infants to cry excessively with no attempts to soothe.

[TigerGalLE]

We have a small handful of nurses in our unit that let their babies cry without attempts to soothe. We have private rooms and often they shut the infants door and sit at the desk where they pretend they can't hear the baby crying. They also draw labs without giving a passy or sweet ease. I cannot stand this. I am constantly having to attempt to soothe their baby or tell them their babies are crying. It isn't fair to the kids. I am thinking of making a poster that explains cortisol release and how to soothe a crying baby. I haven't been to my manager because I don't feel she will address the issue. One of the nurses I speak of is a veteran that has been there for 30 years. I don't want to get her in trouble but it is a problem. Other parents even complain and want to know why that baby has been crying so long.

We are a small level 2 nursery. I've only been here a year. This is my first NICU experience as I worked adult ICU for many years before. Is letting babies cry common practice in other NICUs or are these nurses just lazy? I am not talking neuro/drug babies.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

Just to update. I spoke with the manager who has since told me that she addressed the issue. I haven't seen much improvement. I am keeping a log of extremely bad instances for my own personal reference.

I am tired of it. I personally address the issue by telling her that her baby is crying and if she doesn't come I soothe the baby. It is frustrating because it is hard to get a position in our NICU and there are people out there that could do better.

[canned_bread]

Do you have an NICU educator? Could you ask her about studies and kind of quietly mention it? If not your manager? Be prepared with backed up studies, and don't get to forceful as this can irritate some people. But it's great you have thought of a best practice and are being an advocates for your babies.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

We don't have an educator. :/ We are a small unit. But we are starting to rotate months on who does the education bulletin board. It is in the hallway where family can see so maybe I can simplify it so the parents can understand too.