Overview

The Vision, Purpose, Mission and Activities of the
NIDCAP Federation International

Vision: The vision of the NIDCAP Federation International (NFI) is that all newborn infants in intensive and special care nurseries receive individualized, developmentally supportive, family centered care so that they may realize optimal health and developmental outcome.

Purpose: The purpose of the NFI is to serve as the authoritative leader for research, development, and dissemination of the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) and for the certification of trainers, health care professionals, and nurseries in the NIDCAP approach.

Mission: The mission of the NFI is to develop and support a worldwide collaborative community of trainers, health care systems, professionals, families, and other partners to assure that the highest quality of individualized, developmentally supportive, family centered care is available to all newborns in intensive and special care nurseries.

Activities:

  1. To ensure the quality of the NIDCAP model of individualized, developmentally supportive, family centered care education, training, and implementation.
  2. To support and disseminate conceptually and methodologically sound research regarding individualized, developmentally supportive, family-centered care.
  3. To determine the criteria for and quality of the NIDCAP training process and certification and ensure the quality of performance of NIDCAP certified staff in good standing.
  4. To determine the criteria for the process of training of trainers and maintain the qualifications of trainers in good standing.
  5. To determine the criteria for the establishment of new training centers and maintain the qualifications of training centers in good standing.
  6. To determine the criteria for and quality of certified NIDCAP nurseries, establish the certification process and uphold certification of those nurseries in good standing.
  7. To protect and uphold the integrity of the NIDCAP trademark.
  8. To maintain a sufficient revenue stream and encourage contributions so that the NFI may carry out its mission and purpose.

For more information, please contact:

NIDCAP Federation International
Main Office
c/o Heidelise Als, PhD
Enders Pediatric Research Bldg, EN107
Children’s Hospital Boston
320 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Email: nfidirector@nidcap.org

Challenge and Opportunity

The incidence of preterm birth, worldwide, is rapidly increasing. In the US, the incidence of prematurity currently stands at 12.7%. Over 25% of all preterm infants are also born too small for their gestational age. These infants present immediate and significant challenges to their parents and to their caregivers in Newborn Intensive Care Units. They are hypersensitive, difficult to feed, and difficult to calm. More than 50% will go on to develop learning and emotional disabilities, requiring special education and mental health services. The challenge is even greater in developing countries.

Research has documented the beneficial effect of NIDCAP in terms of shorter intensive care and overall hospital stay, better weight gain and improved behavioral outcomes that endure beyond infancy. Studies have also documented that the NIDCAP approach enhances brain structure and function when measured by sophisticated medical techniques such as EEG and MRI.