Featured in Neonatology Today: Designing for Love, Ritual, and Grief in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Framework for Sensitive Design Conversations

Some of the most important experiences in the NICU are also the hardest to talk about.   

We are grateful to share our Neonatology Today article and the accompanying guidebook created to help healthcare teams, family advocates, and designers engage in sensitive issues around love, loss, remembrance, and family-centered care. 

This work acknowledges not only profound grief, but also the many smaller losses families may experience along their NICU journey such as the loss of expectations, milestones, roles, routines, and the birth experience they imagined. It also explores the importance of designing for rituals that help families and staff find connection, meaning, comfort, and peace.   

Inspired by families, caregivers, and clinicians, the article examines how the healthcare environment can create opportunities for dignity, compassion, and support during life’s most vulnerable moments. We are deeply grateful to everyone who shared their stories, wisdom, and courage to make this work possible. 

Read the full article here.

Link to guidebook.

Julia Jude, AIA, EDAC, Anya Vanecek, MPH, Assoc. AIA