Most parents dream of the day they come home from the hospital with Baby in tow. They have waited nearly nine months, readied the nursery and home for the arrival. But sometimes things don't go as planned. When Baby arrives prematurely or has a medical problem requiring treatment, dreams are often shattered when Mom and Dad find themselves going home – alone.

"It was the most devastating moment of my life to leave without my baby," says Marla Hardee Milling, a director of public information in North Carolina. Milling's baby was born at 38 weeks gestation and although he weighed in at more than 7 pounds, he was lethargic and diagnosed with dangerously low blood sugar, which kept him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on antibiotics for a week after birth.

The NICU is the world of infant intensive care, where babies receive treatment for a host of medical problems, generally related to prematurity. Various circumstances may require an infant's stay. Babies with jaundice or low birth weight may need simple treatment and observation while other, more serious complications associated with premature birth -- such as heart, lung and stomach disorders; infections; diseases; and spells of apnea and brachycardia (the stoppage of breathing) -- may require a lengthy stay in the NICU.

Milling's experience is typical of the emotional shock that hits parents who leave an infant in the hospital. It's not what they've planned or expected, and it's often difficult to go home without Baby. Below, experts -- both medical professionals and parents who have been there -- offer some inspiring ways to ease the various burdens parents face during an infant's stay in the NICU.

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