For new parents, having a baby in the neo-natal intensive care unit can be terrifying.
That's why one of the NICU nurses at Allegheny Health Network's West Penn Hospital has been working to make the experience brighter for babies and their parents.
Bright colors and soft fabrics turned an intimidating hospital room into a nursery.
"Just add a little color and brightness, and make the beds look neat for when the parents come in," said Regina Radovic, a nurse at West Penn Hospital.
Radovic has worked in the NICU for more than 30 years. Over the last two years, she's spent her spare time at home making special sheets for the babies.
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"Our patients are here anywhere basically from six to 12 weeks. (Parents) come in every day. So it's to add a little color to the isolette, instead of seeing their infant on a white blanket, a little white nesting roll that we make, and a white burp cloth," said Radovic.
But the impact of the sheets goes well beyond how they look.
"The environment plays an important factor in how the parents feel, and the environment is extremely important in the development of the newborn baby," said Dr. Giovanni Laneri, a neonatologist at West Penn Hospital.
"When you look in on the camera, and you see more than just white, it's nice when you're checking on them and during the night when they change everything out, it's like, 'Alright, what's going to be on the bed today?'" said Karen Gearhart, who's daughter Lydia is in the NICU.
Parents like Gearhart said they appreciate not only the sheets, but the work that goes into them.
"I thought that was fantastic that they would take the time to do that, to take care of not only making it, but donating all the materials and then maintaining it and washing it and bringing it back in. I thought, that's a lot of extra work, and I just thought that the nurses here were even that much more fantastic," said Gearhart.
Radovic and the team at West Penn would love donations of fabric. Any fabric they use has to be 100% cotton jersey. Donations of fabric or money can be brought to West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood, and dropped off at the hospital's security desk.