SEPTEMBER is NICU Awareness month! This recognition is due to the collaborative efforts of the Project Sweet Peas non-profit organisation in the United States, and other professional and parent-led organisations worldwide, who wished to create a platform for education of the public about the challenges faced by families of critically ill babies admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and to honour the healthcare teams who provide care for them.

It was recognised since the 1920s that there was a need for developing expertise in the area of neonatology (the care of critically ill newborns). JW Ballantyne in 1923 wrote, “There is need for specialisation in neonatal medicine. This applies to doctors and nurses as well as teaching and construction of hospitals. The specialist in neonatal diseases and the nurse intensively trained and expert in the management of delicate newborns will be commonplace ere long”. His observation was on target!

Interestingly, the early researchers and innovators in neonatology were obstetricians and anaesthetists! The terms neonatology and neonatologist( paediatrician with expertise in this area) were coined in the 1960s. Around the same time, the care of sick newborns became the primary responsibility of paediatricians.

Extensive research in this area, led to rapid advances in theoretical knowledge which eventually translated into significant changes in clinical care in the late 1960s and 70s. This has changed the face of Neonatology and outcomes for babies and their families. A 1kg baby born in 1960 had a mortality risk of 95 per cent, but in 2000 in the developed world, had a 95 per cent probability of survival! (Ref: Pediatr Res 58: 799–815, 2005).

We owe a debt of gratitude to the forefathers of this field of medicine who began the advocacy for these vulnerable patients and to the researchers, clinicians, governmental and civic organisations who continue to keep them in focus and give them a voice.

The Caring for Miracles Foundation (CARM Foundation), salutes the families going through this journey and the healthcare team that cares for them. As part of our NICU awareness observations, we decorated the NICU at the University Hospital of the West Indies, and we will be delivering care packages for families and celebrating the families and staff. We also launched our ‘Wear green for our NICU Miracles, Families and Healthcare Workers’ campaign on Friday, September 6. We encourage you to wear green every Friday this month to stand in solidarity with the NICU families and their medical team.

Please share your photos on social media and tag us @carm_foundation. We also challenge you to tell someone new every Friday about the NICU and the work that the CARM Foundation is doing at the UHWI. You can get involved and help to spread awareness! The most innovative individual who is able to generate the most participation wins!

In addition to tagging @carm_foundation, please also use the hashtags #nicuawarenessmonth and #caringformiracles.

Dr Jillian Lewis is a consultant neonatologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, associate lecturer at the University of the West Indies, and founder The Caring for Miracles Foundation.