Dayton Children’s Hospital

Newborn Intensive Care

We care for more than 1,300 newborns every year. This level of experience makes us prepared for anything your baby may need.

thumbnailWhen your baby is born, he or she may need specialized care from trained neonatologists and pediatric experts. During your pregnancy, we want you to be familiar and comfortable with the physicians who will be caring for your baby after birth. Our nurse navigator will connect you to the specialists who will care for your infant and help you understand where she will be treated, based on diagnosis and the treatment options identified in your care plan.

Everyone your baby needs is on our team

Our board-certified and nationally-recognized neonatologists have the most experience in the region caring for the tiniest and most fragile infants.

Neonatologists at both Miami Valley Hospital and Dayton Children’s Hospital work together as partners to determine the best course of treatment for your child.

Our team also includes master’s-prepared neonatal (newborn) nurse practitioners, newborn intensive care-trained nurses and respiratory therapists, social workers, dieticians, pharmacists, lactation consultants and pastoral care counselors.

On average, our nurses have 17 years of experience caring for patients needing newborn intensive care. Their expertise centers around not only providing your baby with the care needed but also helping the most important member of your child’s team… you! Our nurses will help guide you every step of the way while in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) and will help you understand how to care for your baby when you go home.

Pediatric specialists available around the clock

Our neonatologists also have immediate access to a full complement of pediatric subspecialists at Dayton Children’s including experts in cardiology, neurology, pediatric surgery, urology, gastroenterology, pulmonary and many more (link to page about specialists). These specialists are on call 24/7 to provide counsel when necessary. They will work closely with the neonatologists and you in order to achieve the best care possible for your baby.

If your baby does require a pediatric specialist, you will collaborate with that physician from diagnosis to treatment to follow up, giving you peace of mind in knowing who is caring for your baby.

Advanced care

The Level IIIB NICU at Miami Valley Hospital and Dayton Children’s Hospital Level III NICU are equipped with advanced technology for caring for critically-ill newborns. This technology and a specially designed environment allows babies to heal and grow as they prepare to go home. Examples of this technology include:

  • ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). –We are the only program in Dayton to offer ECMO. An ECMO device is a heart-lung bypass machine that is used as a temporary external heart bypass for the heart and lungs. It’s used as a treatment for term and near-term newborns with severe respiratory failure or some heart problems.
  • Laser eye procedures to alleviate retinal scarring that can occur in the very premature infants.
  • Olympic Cool Cap –This system is used to prevent or reduce the severity of neurological injury in infants.

Immediate access to pediatric surgeons

In the event your baby does require surgery, he or she will be transported to Dayton Children’s Hospital where pediatric specialists will be available to perform any needed procedures.