NICU nurses -- guardian angels of new life (1/10)

A nurse’s hand gently holds an infants’ hand. Lenses focus on NICU of the Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a specialized ward of a hospital that cares for infants with intensive medical treatment and deals with the unique needs of newborns. Nurses who work in the ward are primarily responsible for the day-to-day care of these babies. NICU nurses not only carry out instructions written by neonatologists and helps with the assess progress but also perform life-saving tasks in very autonomous roles; they also make quick decisions and complete medical procedures on their own. According to statistics released by the WHO in 2012, the number of babies who are born premature (at less than 37 weeks gestation) has risen to 15 million all over the world every year. Among them, the number of Chinese premature infants was up to more than 1.17 million, second only to India. The more premature an infant is born, the more likely he or she is to spend a significant amount of time in the hospital. (Photo/ Chinapic.people.com.cn)