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

One in 10 babies are born prematurely in the United States, resulting in large numbers of infants growing and developing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This stressful environment offers few enriched sensorimotor experiences impacting infant and family quality of life, resulting in global developmental delays. Hydrotherapy, which involves submersion and movement facilitation in warm water, provides a calming effect for infants, optimizes flexibility and movement, and affords opportunities for families to experience connection often lacking in the NICU environment. These benefits extend to other NICU patient populations with neuromotor and state regulation challenges including 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 for this intervention. Current evidence for use of aquatic therapy in the NICU and pediatric populations will be reviewed in depth. Then, practical steps for implementation and logistics of this novel intervention applicable to a wide variety of neonatal patient populations will be provided.