In Our Midst: The Long-Term Impact of Neonatal Intensive Care

From The Fanlight Collection

Directed by Richard Kahn

56 minutes / Color
Release: 2002
Copyright: 2002

"When the staff of the NICU discharged our child, it was though they were waving goodbye at the dock. We had to make the voyage on our own."—Mother of a NICU graduate

Each year, the lives of thousands of premature newborns are saved by neonatal intensive care. The press and broadcast media celebrate these "miracle babies." But what is life like for the children, who often leave the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with multiple medical problems and developmental challenges? What is life like for their families? Filmmaker Richard Kahn spent almost a year living with one such family. Their four children (three natural, one adopted) are all "graduates" of the NICU, and they represent a range of outcomes, from unimpaired survival to serious physical and learning deficits. Capturing the family's extraordinary mutual devotion as well as the burdens of an unending regimen of care, In Our Midst provides a glimpse into the little explored impact of modern medical technology.

"Producer/director Richard Kahn has produced a clean, professional program that presents the facts about life with special needs kids in a way that is honest, upfront, and achingly real. He has painted a portrait of an extraordinary family dealing with society and our institutions, both good and bad, and shining with the resiliency of the human spirit."—Educational Media Reviews

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Credits

Richard Kahn
with the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Select Accolades

  • Institute on Family-Centered Care
  • AAMR Spirituality Division Video Festival
  • Association for Practical and Professional Ethics
  • Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film and Video Festival

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