Although Halloween festivities looked a bit different this year, one tradition remained the same at the Mary Washington Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where babies celebrated their first holiday. The costumed infants were a small way to bring joy to parents as well as the department’s staff.

The Halloween celebration is organized by nurses in the NICU where they work with parents to create a special costume and supervise the photos.

“When you are expecting a baby, a parent may not think about the possibility of their newborn having to be in a NICU during a holiday. These celebrations are a fun way for us to create normalcy and special memories for our families,” said Nancy Young, BSN, RNC-NIC, Nurse Manager of the NICU. “This celebration has been extra special for us this year, given the stressful, uncertain times, and I hope brought joy to our families and all who see these pictures.”

Mary Washington Hospital’s Level III NICU has provided care to mothers and their babies in the Fredericksburg region for over 25 years. The NICU is powered by trained, specialized staff, including round-the-clock care from neonatologists from Children’s National Hospital.

The unit is prepared for premature infants as small as one pound and born as young as 23 weeks, multiples, and babies who need extra help as they begin their life outside their mother’s womb.