Neonatology and Newborn Care

Female doctor with newborn baby in hospital room

Sometimes the smallest patients face the biggest challenges. At Comer Children’s Hospital, our expert neonatologists can provide your baby with the most advanced newborn care in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We provide level IV neonatal care, the highest level according to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ standards.

But our care does not only begin and end in the NICU. Our extensive team of specialists care for you and your family seamlessly: from the time that a high-risk pregnancy or complex fetal condition is diagnosed during pregnancy, continuing through delivery, admission to the NICU and following your child until they reach kindergarten.

Meet our Neonatologists

Neonatology and Newborn Care Services

Comer Children’s offers the full range of prenatal, newborn care and post-NICU services to support you and your baby.

Support for Babies with Complex Fetal Conditions

If you have a high-risk pregnancy or your baby has a complex fetal condition, we will quickly arrange for you to meet with a team of neonatologists, maternal-fetal medicine experts and pediatric specialists in our Fetal and Neonatal Care Center. Together, we will develop a specialized care plan for your pregnancy, delivery and postnatal care.

Call us at 1-844-UCFETAL (1-844-823-3825).

Neonatal Neurocritical Care Monitoring for Babies with Brain Conditions

If your newborn has a brain condition or injury, we offer specialized monitoring and treatments. Neurological conditions we treat include:

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the brain, which occurs when there is an abnormal connection between an artery and vein
Congenital neurological anomalies
Epilepsy and seizures
Hydrocephalus, or fluid on the brain
Spina bifida, which is a congenital spine abnormality
Stroke
Infections

If needed, we offer therapeutic hypothermia to lower your baby’s body temperature to protect your baby’s brain.

Advanced Respiratory Care to Support Your Baby’s Breathing

Respiratory therapists at Comer Children’s provide expert care for newborns who require oxygen therapy or ventilators to support their breathing. Whenever possible, we provide gentler, state-of-the-art administration techniques, including minimally invasive ventilation and minimally invasive surfactant therapy.

Pulmonary Hypertension Management, including Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

Your baby may require ECMO, a form of heart-lung bypass, if they have a serious heart or lung condition. An ECMO machine is used to pump blood through the body, adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide when the heart or the lungs are not working correctly. At Comer Children’s, ECMO specialists are available around the clock. The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) has recognized our pediatric ECMO program with a Gold Level ELSO Award for Excellence in Life Support.

Genetic Counseling

Our team in the Fetal and Neonatal Care Center includes licensed genetic counselors who can help explain genetic conditions and the plan of care during your pregnancy and after you deliver. They will also coordinate your care with other members of the Fetal and Neonatal Care Center team and other providers when needed.

Emotional Support for the Entire Family

We aim to provide your family with more than exceptional medical care. We also offer compassionate support for parents and siblings, tailored to your family’s unique needs.

Nutritional Support for Preemies and Other Babies

Your newborn may need specialized nutritional care if they are premature or are born with special health challenges. Our neonatal nutrition specialists develop personalized nutrition plans to help optimize your baby’s health and development. Options available include lactation support, donor human milk, specialized formulas, intravenous feedings (total parenteral nutrition, or TPN) and tube feedings.

Continued Follow-Up for the First Five Years of Your Child’s Life

Babies born prematurely or with special challenges need extra monitoring and support during their first years of life. Our team continues to coordinate your child’s care during these critical years.

Our unique Center for Healthy Families provides personalized treatment plans and follow-up care in an integrated primary care clinic rather than a standalone follow-up clinic. The pediatricians in this center have specialized expertise in the needs of children who were born premature or with other challenges at birth. When needed, we coordinate visits with pediatric subspecialists and provide ongoing support if your baby is readmitted. Our clinic can be reached at 1-773-702-0606.

Perinatal Counseling and Support

If your baby is less than 35 weeks gestation at birth, our compassionate perinatal counseling team will meet with you to let you know what to expect during a possible NICU stay. We will take time to answer your questions and help you make informed decisions about your baby’s care.

Why Choose the University of Chicago Medicine for a Complex Pregnancy and Neonatology Care?

Nurse monitoring a premature newborn in an incubator while wearing a face mask

Caring for Your Baby Starts During Pregnancy

Just as you take your prenatal vitamins and watch your diet to take care of your developing baby, the specialists at Comer Children’s also begin to care for your baby during your pregnancy. From the moment that a high-risk or complicated pregnancy is diagnosed, our Fetal and Neonatal Care Center team joins your team to offer the highest level of care for you and your growing family.

Our pediatric specialists at Comer Children’s work closely with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to operate the Fetal and Neonatal Care Center. Our center provides comprehensive neonatal and obstetrical diagnostic and treatment facilities in affiliation with community hospitals.

Seamless Transition to the NICU If Needed

Multidisciplinary Newborn Care

Offering a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to neonatal and perinatal medicine, our team includes:

Neonatologists
Pediatric subspecialists
Pediatric surgeons and pediatric subspecialty surgeons, including pediatric ear, nose and throat specialists (ENT), pediatric neurosurgeons, pediatric ophthalmologists and pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgeons
Fetal cardiologists
Interventional radiologists
Neonatal sleep medicine specialists
Neonatal nurse practitioners
Specially trained nurses
Pediatric social workers
Physical therapists
Occupational therapists
Speech therapists
Feeding specialists
Lactation consultants
Respiratory therapists
Neonatal nutrition specialists
Clinical pharmacists
Care coordinators
Case managers
Child life specialists

Expertise and Experience in Caring for Critically Ill Newborns

Our neonatology experts provide comprehensive treatment plans for babies with a range of critical health challenges, including complications related to preterm births, fetal anomalies, genetic conditions, infections, respiratory conditions, pulmonary hypertension and neurologic issues.

We are a tertiary referral center for multiple community hospitals from Northern Indiana to Southern Illinois and beyond. Along with our state-of-the-art approaches and leading expertise, our physicians are equipped to treat the most critically ill babies.

Family-Centered Care and Support

We believe in family-centered newborn care. This means taking care of not only your infant, but also your entire family. Some of the family-centered services we provide include:

Parent sleep rooms at Comer Children’s
Comfortable, convenient accommodations at Ronald McDonald House in Hyde Park as well as discounted rates at local hotels
Family-centered rounds by NICU providers
Family and sibling support from our Child Life Team
Sibling visitation hours
Monthly Mattea’s Joy dinners where you can meet other families with hospitalized children
A regular "Parent Night" for your family to connect with health care providers
Parent support groups
A dedicated chaplain and psychologist
Complex discharge team to support your family if you have additional challenges and follow-up needs after your baby leaves the hospital
An annual reunion for families and graduates of the NICU

Chicago’s Only Helicopter Team for Critically Ill Newborns

Comer Children’s is the only hospital in the Chicago area with its own helicopter transport team with specialized training in caring for the littlest babies. Helicopter and ground transports are available for critically ill newborns or pregnant women with emergency needs within a 200-mile radius of Chicago through the University of Chicago Medicine Aeromedical Network (UCAN). For providers who would like to request a patient transfer, please call 1-855-834-4782.

Specialized Nursing Care

Innovative Research That Improves Infant Care

Our youngest patients benefit the most from our close ties between research and clinical care. Their health later in life is affected by their development today in the NICU. Research in the NICU is looking at several aspects of infant development and care such as sleep, treatments for respiratory distress, the gut microbiome, brain injury and neurodevelopment.

The NICU also partners closely with the Center for the Science of Early Trajectories to better understand and optimize early infant development.

Neonatology at Comer Children's

Center for Healthy Families Family Connects Maternal-Fetal Medicine Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)Small Baby Unit

Meet Our Neonatologists

In addition to providing specialized care for patients and families, our experts lead innovative research and education initiatives in the Section of Neonatology.