“Splish-Splash!"– Hydrotherapy in the NICU Setting

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a unique healthcare environment as service is provided to a remarkably varied population in terms of age, complexity and families’ lived experience. This stressful environment offers few enriched sensorimotor experiences impacting infant and family quality of life and often resulting in global developmental delays. Hydrotherapy, which involves submersion and movement facilitation in warm water, results in decreased stress and pain, optimizes flexibility and movement, and affords opportunities for families to experience connection often lacking in the NICU setting. These benefits extend to nearly all NICU patient populations with neuromotor and state regulation challenges including prematurity, neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS/NOWS), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), as well as neuromuscular diagnoses such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
This session will explore how hydrodynamic principles support hydrotherapy as a powerful intervention in the NICU setting as well as indications, contraindications, and special considerations. Current evidence for use of aquatic therapy in the NICU and pediatric populations will be reviewed in depth. Then logistics and practical steps for implementation of this novel intervention with a wide variety of neonatal patient populations will be provided. Plenty of time will be set aside for interactive group discussion and Q&A. which will allow for participants to confidently bring this treatment option back to their clinical settings.