Leading practice in developmental care

Developmental care is an individualized approach to care focused on the family and based on understanding the behaviour of newborns. This approach aims for optimal neurobehavioural development in an intensive care context and improvement of parent-child attachment. Despite its well-known care benefits, its implementation in neonatal units remains sporadic and inconsistent, due to a lack of pan-Canadian and international guidelines for institutional implementation. This leading practice presents a systematic approach to the implementation of neuroprotective development care in neonatal units and is the source of the latest guidelines in the field.

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