Welcome to the NICU Dictionary, or the NIC-TIONARY, your resource for understanding the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Here, we offer a dictionary and guide for common words, term, and scenarios in the NICU. We know the NICU can be an overwhelming experience, with unfamiliar terms and scenarios adding to the stress of caring for your baby. Our mission is to bridge the communication gap between parents and healthcare teams by providing a clear, easy-to-navigate glossary of commonly used words and phrases, along with practical guidance for situations you may encounter.

As children of hardworking immigrants and sisters to a wonderful brother with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), we grew up admiring our parents’ resilience in navigating a foreign healthcare system, find identity and community in a new country, and overcome the barriers that came their way. Even before we were teenagers, we translated legal and medical documents to help our parents understand and respond to topics, issues, and letters that, in our age, we did not recognize could have played significant consequences to our family’s lives.

We believe that families should not feel alone in a loved ones’ medical journey. We are sisters with both professional and personal experiences in the NICU who are passionate about improving both the medical and non-medical factors that affect health outcomes. We are working with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and leveraging generative artificial intelligence along the way to expand this website to cover more topics and be available in multiple languages. Whether you’re a first-time parent in the NICU or looking to better understand your baby’s care, we hope that this guide empowers you with knowledge and support during this critical time.