At least one source of daylight shall be visible from infant care areas, either from each infant room itself or from an adjacent staff work area. When provided, external windows in infant care rooms shall be glazed with insulating glass to minimize heat gain or loss, and shall be situated at least 2 feet (0.6 meters) away from any part of an infant's bed to minimize radiant heat loss. All external windows shall be equipped with shading devices that are neutral color or opaque to minimize color distortion from transmitted light.

Windows provide an important psychological benefit to staff and families in the NICU(9,15).  Properly designed daylighting is the most desirable illumination for nearly all caregiving tasks, including charting and evaluation of infant skin tone.

However, placing infants too close to external windows can cause serious problems with radiant heat loss or gain and glare, so provision of windows in the NICU requires careful planning and design.

Shading devices should be easily controlled to allow flexibility at various times of day, and should either be contained within the window or easily cleanable. These should be designed to avoid direct sunlight from striking the infant, IV fluids, or monitor screens.