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Narrative neonatology: integrating narrative medicine into the neonatal intensive care unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 43, pages 813–816 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

You hang up the telephone and rush towards labor and delivery. You see obstetrical residents pushing a woman towards the operating room. Blood seeps through the white blanket draped over her legs and drips onto the floor. She is screaming. A nurse runs by shouting that the patient’s due date is 16 weeks away. You rush alongside the gurney to tell this woman that you, the doctor for her baby, are there to care for her child. As nurses and doctors move her onto the operating room table, you ask if her son has a name. “Save Kathan,” she whispers. Then the anesthesiologist places a mask over her face, and you rush to set up your stabilization equipment.

Every day in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), stories are told and retold. Using formats engrained in medical school, clinicians recount why each baby is in the NICU and what events occurred in the past day. With successive years of training and experience, these stories are told in a brief, ritualistic manner. But others in the unit hear – and tell – stories, too.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Rachel Fleishman

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, WI, USA

    Ryan M. McAdams

  3. Department of Medical Humanities & Bioethics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Brian S. Carter

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA

    Kanekal S. Gautham

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  4. Kanekal S. Gautham
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Contributions

RF conceptualized this manuscript, wrote the initial draft, compiled all references, and revised the manuscript. RMM conceptualized this manuscript, offered revisions, and reviewed the final manuscript. BSC conceptualized this manuscript, offered revisions, and reviewed the final manuscript. KSG conceptualized this manuscript, offered revisions, and reviewed the final manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Rachel Fleishman.

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This story represents a fictional compilation of patients for whom the authors have cared.

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Fleishman, R., McAdams, R.M., Carter, B.S. et al. Narrative neonatology: integrating narrative medicine into the neonatal intensive care unit. J Perinatol 43, 813–816 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01565-5

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