Introduction
Neonatal occupational therapists work collaboratively with parents of high-risk infants to facilitate the infant’s and parents’ occupational roles, support the parent–infant relationship and ensure a successful transition from the neonatal unit to home and community.
To do this, occupational therapists provide therapeutic interventions to support infant occupations of sleeping, feeding, daily cares and interaction by:
- Adjusting the environment around the infant to support their neurological and sensory development
- Supporting both infants and parents in the provision of non-pharmacological pain management during painful and stressful caregiving procedures
- Advising on positioning for optimal neurobehavioural regulation
- Promoting sleep protection
- Optimising babies neurobehavioural states during daily cares
- Providing regulatory strategies for positive feeding experiences
- Providing specialist equipment where necessary
Occupational therapists (OT) facilitate parental occupations to increase parents’ self-efficacy as being their babies primary care giver in the neonatal environment. OTs do this by enabling parents to feel confident and competent in reading their infant’s neurobehavioural cues and to use strategies to support their infant’s development and regulation. Examples of these strategies may include containment holding, positive touch, skin to skin care, providing maternal scent and non-pharmacological pain management support to enable responsive care giving.
Neonatal occupational therapists have a lead role in working with the neonatal multidisciplinary team to promote a neuro-protective developmental care environment to minimise the potential for harm of the neonatal unit environment on the infant’s developing brain. OTs can be a resource for nurses and other members of the team to support problem solving and to facilitate individual developmentally supportive care plans for infants. This in turn supports the infant’s growth and development in order to promote early engagement with their parents, including co-occupations such as nurturing touch and the introduction of feeding, bathing and handling.
As the infant moves towards discharge from the unit, OTs provide anticipatory guidance and intervention to support the development of infant occupations around self-care, learning and play. Through educating parents on strategies to support and engage their infant with appropriate sensory and motor experiences, occupational therapists can provide building blocks for developmental progression and parent–infant interaction.
How to become a neonatal OT?
To become a neonatal OT, you firstly require a university degree in Occupational Therapy. As the nature of neonatal practice is specialised, most neonatal OT positions will start at a band 7 highly specialist level and will require a background in paediatric practice and knowledge of infant/early childhood development. There are a few opportunities for Band 6 level positions, in units where supervision is available from a more experienced Band 7 or 8 therapist. There are currently many neonatal OT education and training opportunities led by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and Health Education England to support occupational therapists transition to a neonatal OT role.
Progression opportunities
The clinical area of neonates is ever-expanding for OT. There are opportunities to move into Clinical Specialist Band 8 roles, both in the clinical and strategic spheres. OTs have skills that transfer well into leadership roles within Trusts, local ODNs and in strategic roles to be key voices in the development of services for infants and families from a national level. Neonatal OTs may also choose to pursue an academic career or work simultaneously as clinicians and researchers.
Links
Information above has been sourced from:
- Royal College of Occupational Therapists (2022) Occupational therapy in neonatal services and early intervention: practice guideline – second edition. London: RCOT
- British Association of Perinatal Medicine (2022) Neonatal Specialities – Occupational Therapists. London: BAPM
