Welcome to the Collaboration Pages

The Collaboration Pages articles are based on the philosophy that collaborative relationships between parents and health care providers are the cornerstone of quality health care for babies and children. These articles are addressed to parents, encouraging them to step up and collaborate with professionals around their baby’s or child’s health.  If you are a parent, it is normal to feel intimidated by the doctors, nurses, and therapists who oversee your child’s care.  At first, you may feel unsure of your role and believe you have little to contribute.  These articles will offer you the support and tools you need to communicate effectively and join your child’s health care team.  For more support, be sure to check out the Parent Pages on this website. Our book, Parenting Your Premature Baby and Child: The Emotional Journey, also addresses these challenges, and more.

If you are a professional, reading about the collaborative process from the parents’ point of view can help you gather insights about what parents need in order to feel included as valuable and integral members of their child’s health care team.  You can also encourage the parents you work with by reinforcing the philosophy and practical suggestions contained in these articles. In many cases, you may find that these articles can apply to a wide range of pediatric medical specialties, and are not just for working with families of premature babies.

For articles addressed specifically to health care professionals, please see the Professionals Pages. Also see the Consulting Pages (Partners in Perinatal and Pediatric Consulting) if you would like assistance in promoting professional competencies, creating or improving policies, advice on specific situations, or referrals to other resources.

This website is a companion to our book and contains many excerpts, articles adapted from the book, plus articles written especially for this site. We also encourage you to turn to the many supportive and informative Resources that are available. You may want to bookmark this page as we will be adding more content over time.