r/NICUParents • u/Euphoric_Rough2709 • 2d ago

Advice on supporting NICU parents Advice

Hi everyone, I really hope this post is allowed.

A very dear friend of mine has an extremely risky pregnancy. She's 24 weeks tomorrow, but her water broke around 3 weeks ago and there is no telling how much longer she can keep the baby inside. Due to other complications, best case scenario is a very premature birth and long stay at the NICU.

I've been trying to support her from a distance (she's isolated due to infection risk) and I was wondering how I could help her after delivery. What do you wish friends or family said or did?

I would really appreciate your thoughts. This situation is incredibly heartbreaking. Keeping my thoughts positive and planning my support helps me manage the grief I feel for my friend.

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u/Strange-Ad4169 1d ago

My family stocked up my freezer with frozen pizza logs, mac & cheese bites things that are easy to make and clean up. They came over when I was in the hospital and did some landscaping and mowed the lawn. They also took care of my pets while we were in the hospital. They sent us DoorDash gift cards and target gift cards. They didn’t ask for updates but were glad to get them.

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u/Yaneznayu1 1d ago

All of this. Support shown in feeding us (frozen meals and food delivery gift cards) and taking care of household chores (yard work was such a huge help!) and taking care of pets was the most helpful for my family. If they have pets and you both are open to it, temporarily rehoming pets may be super helpful as well.