Specialized Intensive Care for Newborns
The Division of Neonatology treats newborns at every stage of development: premature, near-term and full-term.
Neonatology is focused on newborns with complex medical issues, including:
- Premature birth: The NICU is a life-saving resource for babies born before term. When a baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation, the internal organs are not quite ready to support life outside the womb.
- Low birth weight: babies born under 5 pounds, 8 ounces or 2,500 grams are at risk for health problems, some of which can extend into later years.
- Failure to thrive: a complex set of circumstances -the baby doesn’t grow and gain weight normally. The NICU is equipped to increase the baby’s chances of getting a good start on growth and weight gain.
- Medical problems of the digestive system, heart, lungs, urinary tract and other major organ systems
- Newborns requiring surgery: neonatal surgery is a very specialized form of hospital care. Our NICU is staffed and equipped to handle precise and delicate newborn surgical intervention.
- Infection
- Jaundice, nutritional problems and low blood sugar
- Genetic disorders and birth defects: Genetic problems that affect newborns can include chromosome disorders, Tay-Sachs disease, thalassemias, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Huntington disease, type 1 diabetes
- Neurological problems: such as seizures, developmental delay and movement disorders – including cerebral palsy, spasticity and dystonia
- Other newborn complications
Our team is composed of specially trained neonatal doctors and nurses. They work closely with other specialists, including pediatric surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons; pediatric cardiologists; and obstetrics and gynecology – plus supporting services like pharmacy, respiratory therapy, physical medicine, nutrition and others.