Six years ago, Kelly Fraasch became an expert on parent support in neonatal intensive care units when her daughter was born prematurely and spent nine months in NICUs in three different cities. The insights this Mt. Lebanon mother gleaned from the experience have become the foundation of a new parent support program that begins this month in Pittsburgh.

Ms. Fraasch's daughter Taylor, now a charming first-grader, had an eventful start in life. Not only did she arrive at an unexpected time -- 17 weeks before her due date -- but in an unexpected place. Ms. Fraasch, now 32, and her husband James, 34, were not at home in Arlington, Va., but visiting family in Chicago when their firstborn entered the world weighing 1 pound and 4 ounces.

Taylor spent four months in a Chicago NICU before she was stable enough to be medically transported to Georgetown University Hospital for the remainder of her NICU care.

But staying put was not in the cards for the Fraasch family. Two months after Taylor settled in at Georgetown, a job change for Mr. Fraasch, a computer network engineer, required a move to California. Taylor spent the last three months of her NICU care in San Jose.

The Fraasches were pleased with the medical care their daughter received in the NICUs in all three cities, but were astonished by the lack of conscious parent support. Not just for people in extraordinary circumstances like theirs, but for any of the parents.

NICU parents are "in a crisis mode," struggling through one of the most stressful and terrifying times in their lives, explained Ms. Fraasch. Many are overwhelmed with uncertainty about what will happen next and what will happen in the years to come.

"There was not really any parent support in the NICUs. Occasionally, a social worker checked in with you and, of course, there was informal contact with other families whose children were there, but that was the extent of it," said Ms. Fraasch.

When yet another job change brought the Fraasches to Pittsburgh in 2004 (now with their second child, son C.J.), Ms. Fraasch met other mothers who agreed that more parent support was needed in the NICUs. Together, they mapped out a plan for the Parent Resource Network, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reach out to parents in Pittsburgh's four NICUs -- Allegheny General, Magee-Womens, Mercy, and West Penn, as well as the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children's, and the Transitional Infant Care Hospital at the Children's Home of Pittsburgh.

Beginning this month, the Parent Resource Network will provide parent mentors who have NICU experience or a child with ongoing medical needs. The group will also offer support groups and a hotline, and will assist with the variety of needs that arise when a child is hospitalized -- from arranging meals to arranging pet care.

Support will extend well beyond the time the child is in the NICU, since many children will leave the hospital with chronic health problems or with conditions that are not yet diagnosed. Many children re-enter the hospital, some of them multiple times. Ms. Fraasch has firsthand understanding of the need for ongoing support. At 6 years old, her daughter Taylor is healthy but still copes with hearing, vision and respiratory difficulties.

The Parent Resource Network benefits from the commitment of the Pittsburgh hospital community. Representatives from six hospitals sit on its board. Their involvement will allow the group to establish its presence in the NICUs and will provide ongoing guidance.

Debrah Flowers, chief clinical care coordinator at the Children's Home of Pittsburgh and a PRN board member, says she is passionate about the support that will come to families at Transitional Infant Care Hospital and other facilities.

"There's been a need for this for years," said Ms. Flowers.

She said that although there are many layers of medical support in an NICU, "families also need support from people who are not going to give you bad news. They need friendly support, camaraderie. They need another parent who can say 'This is what I went through' or 'I know how you feel.' Someone who is able to offer a few words of encouragement or give a hug. All this is so important."

Ms. Flowers added that parent support is particularly needed as hospitals move away from traditional ward-type NICUs to arrangements that provide more privacy for families. Parents tell her that they like the privacy, but also say that it isolates them from other families.

Ms. Fraasch says it made sense to begin Parent Resource Network in Pittsburgh because it is a center for medical care. The organization is setting up a formal evaluation of its services and talking with the Institute for Family-Centered Care in Washington, D.C., with the intention of expanding the Parent Resource Network regionally, then nationally.

For information about the Parent Resource Network, call 877-647-4373 (8-PRN-IS-HERE) or visit www.parentresourcenetwork.org.