NEUROPROTECTIVE TEACHING LANGUAGE
Clear, memorable language can help translate neuroprotective principles into everyday practice. The Neuroprotective Care Program™ brings together evidence-informed concepts and practical teaching language to support consistent, responsive care across the NICU team. Established concepts and terminology are referenced and attributed to their sources whenever identifiable.
CORE NEUROPROTECTIVE LANGUAGE
These teaching phrases translate neuroprotective principles into clear, memorable language that supports intentional, responsive care. Used across disciplines and at the bedside, they help create a shared language for protecting the developing brain and supporting infants and families.
EVERY TOUCH IS BRAIN CARE
Every interaction is an opportunity to protect the developing brain.
STOP • PAUSE • GO
Pause before care. Observe the infant. Proceed in response to the infant’s cues.
PROTECT THE PAUSE
Preserve moments of rest and regulation before introducing the next interaction.
COMFORT IS CARE
Comfort is not an extra. Anticipating pain, stress, and overstimulation is part of protecting the developing brain.
CUES BEFORE CLOCKS
Let the infant’s physiologic and behavioral cues help guide the timing, pacing, and progression of care.
ALLOW RECOVERY
After stress, handling, procedures, or feeding, allow time and support for the infant to return to physiologic and behavioral stability.
PROTECT SLEEP
Protect sleep as an essential part of brain development by reducing unnecessary disruption and supporting developmentally appropriate periods of rest.
SUPPORT CONNECTION
Protect opportunities for meaningful infant–family connection through presence, touch, skin-to-skin care, participation, and responsive interaction.
POSITION WITH PURPOSE
Use positioning, containment, and movement intentionally to support alignment, flexion, physiologic stability, comfort, and developing motor organization.
PROCEDURAL SUPPORT & RECOVERY
These teaching phrases emphasize preparation, support, and recovery surrounding stressful or painful experiences, recognizing that neuroprotective care continues before, during, and after a procedure.
PROCEDURE ENDS. RECOVERY CONTINUES
The end of a procedure does not mark the end of the infant’s stress response. Continue neuroprotective support until physiologic and behavioral stability are restored.
POSITIVE & DEVELOPMENTAL EXPERIENCES
These teaching phrases emphasize developmentally appropriate experiences that support regulation, connection, sensory development, and positive interactions while respecting each infant’s individual readiness and cues.
POSITIVE CARE IS BRAIN CARE
Balance necessary stress with positive, developmentally appropriate experiences that support regulation, connection, comfort, and healthy brain development.
STIMULATION WITH PURPOSE
Provide sensory experiences intentionally, guided by developmental readiness, physiologic stability, and the infant’s cues rather than stimulation for its own sake.
DISCHARGE & TRANSITION
These teaching phrases extend neuroprotective care beyond the NICU, supporting continuity, family confidence, and developmentally responsive care as infants transition home and into ongoing follow-up.
DISCHARGE CHANGES HANDS
Neuroprotective care does not end at discharge. Prepare and empower families to carry supportive, responsive care into the transition home.
FAMILIES ARE PART OF THE CARE TEAM
Recognize families as essential partners in care by supporting participation, shared understanding, confidence, and connection throughout the NICU journey.
BEDSIDE CARE & HANDLING
These teaching phrases emphasize intentional handling and coordination of care to reduce unnecessary disruption while supporting physiologic stability, comfort, regulation, and developmental organization.
MINIMIZE THE LIFTS
Plan care to reduce unnecessary lifting, repositioning, and transfers while maintaining safety, physiologic stability, and developmental support.
CLUSTER WITH INTENTION
Coordinate care when appropriate to reduce unnecessary disruption while remaining responsive to the infant’s cues, physiologic stability, and need for recovery.
TOUCH WITH INTENTION
Approach touch with purpose, using supportive and cue-responsive contact to promote comfort, regulation, connection, and physiologic stability.
SLOW IS SOMETIMES FASTER
Slow the pace of care when needed to support stability, allow the infant time to respond, and reduce cumulative stress.
STABILITY BEFORE STIMULATION
Establish and protect physiologic and behavioral stability before introducing additional sensory, developmental, or caregiving experiences.
READ THE BABY
Observe physiologic and behavioral cues throughout -care, and adjust the environment, timing, pacing, and support in response to what the infant communicates.
PROTECT THE TRANSITIONS
Anticipate and support transitions between activities, positions, caregivers, and environments to minimize stress and preserve physiologic and behavioral stability.
ONE CARE PLAN. ONE BRAIN.
Coordinate care across disciplines so that neuroprotective priorities remain consistent throughout the infant’s day and across the NICU journey.
PROTECT THE EXPERIENCE
Consider not only what care is provided, but how the infant experiences it—before, during, and after each interaction.
PREPARE BEFORE YOU TOUCH
Prepare the environment, equipment, and plan of care before beginning an interaction to reduce unnecessary interruption, handling, and stress.
PROTECT WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN CARE
Protect periods between caregiving interactions as opportunities for sleep, recovery, regulation, and uninterrupted development.
THE BRAIN DOESN’T EXPERIENCE CARE IN ISOLATION
Consider the cumulative effect of handling, procedures, environment, sleep disruption, feeding, and recovery across the infant’s entire day.
CARE HAS A CUMULATIVE EFFECT
Consider how repeated interactions across the day can accumulate, and coordinate care to protect stability, recovery, sleep, and development.
STRESS, STABILITY & RECOVERY
These teaching phrases emphasize recognizing stress, protecting physiologic and behavioral stability, and allowing adequate recovery between interactions to support the developing brain.
SUPPORT BEFORE STRESS
Anticipate potentially stressful care and provide appropriate containment, comfort, positioning, and family support before the stress occurs.
RECOVERY IS PART OF THE PROCEDURE
Plan for recovery as part of every procedure by allowing time and providing support for the infant to regain physiologic and behavioral stability.
PROTECT THE WHOLE DAY
Plan neuroprotective care across the infant’s entire day, balancing necessary interventions with opportunities for sleep, recovery, family connection, feeding, and development
PAUSE IS AN INTERVENTION
When the infant shows signs of stress or instability, pause when clinically appropriate and allow time for regulation and recovery before continuing.
BIRTH & EARLY STABILIZATION
These teaching phrases emphasize protecting the developing brain from the first moments of life through thoughtful preparation, physiologic stability, gentle handling, and coordinated care during birth and early stabilization.
PROTECT THE FIRST MOMENTS
Approach the earliest moments after birth with preparation and intention, prioritizing physiologic stability, thermal protection, respiratory support, and minimizing unnecessary stress.
PROTECT THE GOLDEN HOUR
Coordinate stabilization during the first hour after birth to support temperature, breathing, circulation, glucose stability, and a calm transition while minimizing unnecessary handling.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS PART OF THE CARE
Shape light, sound, touch, activity, and sensory experiences to support the infant’s developmental readiness, physiologic stability, sleep, and regulation.
PROTECT THE SKIN. PROTECT THE BRAIN.
Protect skin integrity through developmentally appropriate care that minimizes injury, supports thermal stability, and reduces unnecessary pain and stress.
FEEDING & DEVELOPMENT
These teaching phrases emphasize feeding as a developmental experience, supporting physiologic stability, readiness, regulation, positive oral experiences, and responsive interaction throughout the progression of feeding.
FEEDING IS A DEVELOPMENTAL EXPERIENCE
Approach feeding as more than intake by supporting readiness, physiologic stability, infant cues, positive oral experiences, and responsive interaction.
FEED THE INFANT, NOT THE VOLUME
Let feeding readiness, physiologic stability, endurance, and behavioral cues guide the feeding experience while supporting safe nutrition and growth.
FAMILY PARTNERSHIP & CONNECTION
These teaching phrases emphasize families as essential partners in neuroprotective care, supporting meaningful connection, participation, confidence, and responsive interaction throughout the NICU experience.
FAMILY PRESENCE IS NEUROPROTECTIVE
Create opportunities for families to be present, participate in care, provide comfort, and build connection and confidence throughout the NICU journey.
PARENTS ARE NOT VISITORS
Welcome parents as essential partners in their infant’s care, supporting meaningful participation, connection, confidence, and shared understanding throughout the NICU journey.
CONNECTION BEFORE CORRECTION
When the infant shows stress or disorganization, first support connection, containment, and regulation before continuing or changing the caregiving interaction.
THE FAMILY LEARNS THE BABY
Support families in recognizing their infant’s cues, stress signals, and responses so they can confidently provide individualized, responsive care.
TEAM CONSISTENCY & SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
These teaching phrases emphasize a shared approach to neuroprotective care, supporting consistency across caregivers and disciplines so that each interaction builds upon the same goals for stability, development, recovery, and family partnership.
CONSISTENCY IS NEUROPROTECTIVE
Create a consistent approach across caregivers and disciplines so the infant and family experience coordinated, predictable, and developmentally supportive care.
NEUROPROTECTION IS EVERYONE’S CARE
Every discipline, caregiver, and interaction contributes to the infant’s experience. Neuroprotective care is strongest when the entire team shares responsibility for protecting development.