Neonatal intensive care unit discharge preparation, family readiness and infant outcomes: connecting the dots.

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge readiness is defined as the masterful attainment of technical skills and knowledge, emotional comfort, and confidence with infant care by the primary caregivers at the time of discharge. NICU discharge preparation is the process of facilitating comfort and confidence as well as the acquisition of knowledge and skills to successfully make the transition from the NICU to home. In this paper, we first review the literature about discharge readiness as it relates to the NICU population. Understanding that discharge readiness is achieved, in part, through successful discharge preparation, we then outline an approach to NICU discharge preparation.