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Dr. Kate | NICU Doctor & Medical Expert

@drkater

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Board-Certified Neonatologist | Media Expert
👩🏼‍⚕️ Medicine, without the stereotype.
✨ NICU • Life Well Lived • Philly • NYC
💌 [email protected]

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🫖 The NICU tea would be piping hot 👏🏼

Inspired by @drmollysays to create this 😅

#Neonatology #NICU #NICUbaby #NICUlife taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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4 months ago

What to do for RSV?

RSV is the respiratory syncytial virus, and causes bronchiolitis in babies. Since it is a virus, there is no medications to shorten illness. The best we can do is help babies feel better through supportive care for symptoms.

At home you can:
1️⃣ Fever control. Use Tylenol (generic: acetaminophen) every 6 hours to reduce fever. In babies over 6 months, you can also give ibuprofen every 6 hours. If you stagger and alternate these medication, then the baby can receive something for fever every 3 hours.
🌟 Ex schedule: Tylenol 9am, ibuprofen 12pm, Tylenol 3pm, ibuprofen 6pm

2️⃣ Hydration. Appetite can be decreased when sick. Offer smaller amounts of age-appropriate fluids (breastfeeding/breast milk/formula/water) more frequently to keep hydrated.

3️⃣ Clear secretions. Putting saline drops or nasal saline spray into the nose before suctioning can loosen secretions and make them easier to remove. A bulb suction or the @fridababy NoseFrida can be used to suction out nasal secretions.

4️⃣ Humidify. A cool-mist humidifier can help to loosen secretions to improve congestion and cough.

Other things to know:
• Worst symptoms are expected between day 3 and 5 of illness
• Cough or “cold” medications are not safe to give to babies
• Children less than 1 year old cannot have honey. Honey may be used in older children to help with coughing.
• Infants under 6 months are higher risk for hospitalization than older children
• Former preemies are high risk for hospitalization

Save and share with your momma friends for this viral season 🤍 taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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4 years ago

🎀 The infamous BOW HAT! 👶

These are a hit on the L&D floors, and I love to make them for our NICU babies…

We used to joke that this is a “third year fellow skill” so now I am passing on my how-to to you 🥰

1️⃣ Grab two hats. One will stay a hat and the other one will make the bow.
2️⃣ Cut one hat in half. Make the bottom half generous — the bigger it is, the bigger your bow will be. Save that bottom half.
3️⃣ Cuff the full hat. I usually aim for about 1/3 of the hat folded up. If it’s too much it won’t fit the baby, but too small of a cuff and you’ll get a droopy bow.
4️⃣ Cut two slits in the middle of the cuff: this will be the middle “knot” of the bow. Tips:
• You want to go through ALL the layers. If it just goes through the cuff, sometimes the bow pulls the cuff down. It’s extra reinforced if your slits are through both the cuff piece and the hat piece.
• The shorter the slits are, the fuller your bow looks. It also makes it harder for the next step, but it’s worth it to have a tight center.
• Keep them close together, just trust me on this one.
*️⃣ I usually fold the cuffed part in half and then cut from the inside. If one side of the slits is going to be longer, I like to be the inside so it doesn’t affect the overall look.
5️⃣ Take the half hat and shove it through the slits. If they’re short, it should naturally fold near the center and then have two big ends on either side. If you’re feeling super fancy, you can also twist it in the middle, but the end result isn’t very different.
6️⃣ I roll the cut edge in, because… aesthetics ✨

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗜𝗧!!

Have you made a bow hat before? Questions about the bow hat?! by @drkater

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5 years ago

Let’s hear it one more time for the girls 👏

@thechicks at @themetphilly 🤍

26 years after the first time I saw them in concert - let’s do it again!

Thank god I got a spray tan before putting these “sheer” tights on 🫠

PS. Vest by moi!!

😹 no caption needed

Sound exactly like they did in the early 2000s 🤩

🤍 by @drkater

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2 days ago

For some, this may be the first time you’ve heard of it. For others, October 15 carries a weight that doesn’t need explaining.

Today honors the babies gone too soon and the parents, siblings, grandparents, and families who carry their memory. Pregnancy and infant loss can be an incredibly lonely grief, especially when the world doesn’t know what to say, or doesn’t know a loss happened at all.

As a Neonatologist, I know that every baby has a story, and every family deserves compassion in the face of loss. Today, I want to make space for those stories and remind anyone who is grieving that their baby matters, their grief matters, and they are not forgotten.

Here’s one small way to participate: At 7 p.m. in your local time zone tonight, light a candle and leave it burning for at least an hour as part of the global Wave of Light. As each time zone joins in, the light travels around the world in remembrance of babies who have died too soon🕯️

You don’t need to share your story publicly to participate. You don’t need to explain your loss to anyone. You can simply light a candle and remember.

And if someone you love has experienced pregnancy or infant loss, consider reaching out today. You don’t need perfect words. Sometimes, simply saying “I’m thinking of you and your baby today” is enough.

For every baby loved, missed, and remembered. Today and always. 🤍

#pregnancyandinfantlossawareness #pregnancyandinfantlossremembranceday #pregnancyandinfantlossawarenessmonth #waveoflight #neonatologist taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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2 days ago

My Chicago camera roll may be empty but my Chicago heart is full 💕

#chicago #chicagogram #weekendhome #phillyblogger #girlsnightout taken in LUXBAR by @drkater

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5 days ago

The sass in me sees and honors the sass in you 🙏🏼

sassy NICU staff 🤝 sassy preemie, a match made in heaven… like @wearfigs Espresso & Dark Açaí 🤎

#NICUbaby #preemie #preemiestrong #Neonatologist #NICU taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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9 days ago

Goodbyeeeeeeeeee 👋🏼 Had the best night with @thechicks 🤍

#thechicks #takingthelongway #phillyblogger #girlsnightout #philly taken in The Met Philly by @drkater

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10 days ago

☕️ Preemies: they’re just like us 😂

… except their caffeine isn’t about surviving a 7 a.m. meeting. It’s actually one of the most commonly used medications in the NICU because premature babies have immature respiratory control centers in the brainstem, which makes them prone to apnea of prematurity, or pauses in breathing that can lead to desaturations and bradycardia.

And this is where caffeine comes in. 👇🏼

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, essentially taking the foot off the brake of the respiratory system. That increases respiratory drive, improves the response to CO₂, and helps the diaphragm work more effectively and fatigue less easily.

And caffeine isn’t just helping babies breathe through those little apnea spells. The landmark trial found that caffeine also reduced bronchopulmonary dysplasia, shortened the time babies needed respiratory support, and was associated with better long-term motor and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

So yes, your 500g patient may be personally offended that rounds started before their caffeine. 😂 But there is some VERY real physiology behind that attitude

And for the record: this caffeine lesson is brought to you in ☕️ @wearfigs Espresso.

Any request for other NICU medications do you want me to break down without the medical jargon? 🩺

#NICUBaby #NICU #Neonatology #Neonatologist #caffeine taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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11 days ago

Fall and I are about to fall hard for each other 🍂☕️

TODAY!! Espresso is BACK, Dark Açaí is bringing the rich berry energy, and Bonsai returned for the loyalists. Basically, @wearfigs understood the assignment.

And yes, I changed outfits three times before leaving the house. Some decisions require consideration 😂

Which fall shade are you falling for? 🤎 Espresso, 💜 Dark Açaí, or 💚 Bonsai?!

PS. Don’t miss Leo trying to decide if he wants to be an IG star or not 🌟

Wearing:
Dark Açaí Florence Henley short-sleeve scrub top in XS and Zamora jogger scrub pants in XSP
Espresso Catarina scrub top in XS and Zamora jogger scrub pants in XSP with Dark Açaí ContourKnit scrub jacket in XS

#WearFIGS #FIGSAmbassador #AwesomeHumans #womeninmedicine #fallstyles taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @drkater

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12 days ago

NYC wedding weekend 💍 K+B, the easiest “yes” to celebrate 🤍

#boweryhotel #nycwedding #newyork #newyorkcity #phillyblogger

Ceremony ready!

Not even a lil’ bit excited for K 🤩

A moment for the dress 👏🏼

The perfect cotton candy sky sunset 😍

A pizza-perfect end to the night 😅

Good night 🌙

Just a couple details 😍

Possibly the best hotel room I’ve ever stayed in 🤔

Time to search for…

NOODS!!!! 🍜😋

This turndown service made me smile every night 🥹

Bucket list hotel stay ✅ taken in Bowery Hotel by @drkater

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14 days ago

🤍 IT IS OFFICIALLY @ARTURKIRSHSALONATBOYDS MONTH!!! 🥂

You can now book with this incredible hair artist in the heart of Center City 🙌🏼

#boydsphiladelphia #arturkirshsalon #phillyhairsalon #phillyhair #phillyhaircraft

A moment for the lewk 🤩

This and gab 🤌🏼

Picture you + me getting a good head scrub while we gossip in this spot 🥹

Was feeling artsy with my opening party accessories 💀 Speaking of which…

Is this not the cutest compact to ever exist?!!!! Thank you so much to @kristinaanndesigns 🤍

My forever date 🤝 @sweetgreen

Good night 🌙 taken in Boyds by @drkater

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16 days ago