Ventilator Support
Care for a child whose breathing is supported by a ventilator, whether overnight, for part of the day or continuously.
Overview
Understanding Ventilator Support at Home
A ventilator is a machine that helps a child breathe — either taking over the work of breathing, or supporting the breaths a child is already taking.
Some children need it only during sleep; others need it for longer stretches of the day, and some need it continuously.
Support may be given through a tracheostomy tube or, for some children, through a mask that fits over the nose or face.
A ventilator is equipment, not a diagnosis. The reasons a child needs breathing support vary widely, and so does how long it is needed.
- Care follows your child's physician-ordered plan
- A care need, not a diagnosis
- Support for the whole family, not only the child
- Care that fits around ordinary family life
Support at home
What Families May Need Support With
What support at home may look like, where it is ordered by your child's physician.
A nurse stays with the child during the hours breathing support is in use, watching how they are doing and responding to what they see.
Overnight nursing means someone is awake and attentive while the rest of the household sleeps — for many families this is the single biggest change.
Nurses help families become familiar with the equipment and its alarms, so the sounds of the house feel understandable rather than alarming.
What the nursing team observes is recorded and shared with the child's pulmonary and medical teams, so reviews are based on how the child is actually doing at home.
Care is arranged around the family's real week — school runs, work, siblings, appointments — rather than the other way around.
Safety and Monitoring
Care that follows the plan
Nursing care is carried out as your child's physician has ordered it.
Changes noticed early
What the nurse sees day to day is passed on to your child's medical team.
Families prepared, not left alone
Parents learn the routine alongside the team, at their own pace.
Related Services
Respiratory & Airway Care
Support at home for children who depend on a tracheostomy, ventilator, oxygen or airway clearance.
Pediatric Skilled Nursing
Nursing care for medically complex children, delivered at home instead of in a hospital room.
Complex Pediatric Care
Coordinated home care for children whose needs cross breathing, feeding, neurology and daily living.
Related conditions
Related Conditions in Children
Diagnoses where this care need often comes up. Having one does not mean a child needs this care.
Helpful Resources
Related guides and resources
- A Parent's Guide to Spinal Cord Injury in Children
Damage to the spinal cord that interrupts signals between the brain and the body below the level of injury.
- A Parent's Guide to Muscular Dystrophy in Children
A group of inherited conditions in which muscle strength changes over time, affecting movement and sometimes breathing.
- Your Guide to the Georgia Pediatric Program
What GAPP is, who it serves, how requests are reviewed, and how to start a conversation.
- The Parent Caregiver Pathway
What the parent caregiver route involves, and why it is not available to every family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ventilator support mean our child has to stay in bed?
Not necessarily. Many children who use breathing support go to school, travel and take part in family life, and portable equipment is designed with that in mind. What is possible for your child is a conversation for their medical team, who know their situation.
What happens if the power goes out?
Families are given a plan for power interruptions before a child comes home, worked out with the medical team and the equipment provider. A home nursing team learns your child's plan and follows it, and it is worth reviewing that plan with them so everyone in the house knows it.
Will our child always need a ventilator?
Some children need breathing support for a defined period and others for much longer, and the picture can change as a child grows. Your child's pulmonary team is the right place to ask, and the answer is often revisited over time rather than settled once.
Can we ever actually sleep?
This is one of the most honest questions families ask. Overnight nursing exists largely for this reason: so that someone with training is awake and watching, and parents can sleep properly instead of in fragments. Families often say the difference shows up everywhere else in their lives.
About this information
This page is general information for families, written in plain language by the WeLIVE Healthcare team. It is not medical advice and does not replace the judgment of your child’s physician, who knows your child. Always talk with your child’s care team about their specific needs.
We're Here to Support Your Family.
Tell us a little about your child and our team will follow up to talk through care options at home.
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