PTs and their NICU colleagues promote a practice that benefits premature infants and their parents.

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are intense environments in which staff work diligently to protect and strengthen fragile infants who are receiving complex medical care and encountering a variety of stressors.

Many premature infants live inside an isolette—an incubator with armholes so that the baby can be reached without significantly disturbing the controlled environment that includes endotracheal tubes, umbilical arterial or venous lines, and cardiac and temperature monitors.