Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The Margaret M. and George A. Stephen Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Comer Children's Hospital is among the largest in the Midwest, with approximately 1,000 admissions every year.

Our NICU features 47 designated tertiary care beds (Level III) and 18 convalescent (Level II) beds. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can be provided for up to three infants at a time by a special group of ECMO specialists who supplement the NICU nursing staff.

Because you, your family and your child's health care team never want to be far from your baby, we have added these amenities to the area surrounding the NICU:

• Visitor's waiting room
• Breast milk pumping rooms
• Computer facilities
• Support facilities for nursing staff
• On-call sleeping rooms

At Comer Children’s, parents are able to accompany their children throughout their stay in the NICU. In addition, the NICU is just steps from the Family Birth Center, a leading-edge facility located inside Comer Children’s. Having the NICU only a short walk from labor and delivery is a tremendous benefit to families whose babies are premature and/or have complications.

Our Level 2 nursery provides specialized newborn care with extended neonatal capabilities. Our NICU staff is extensively trained to care for babies born at 30 weeks and older.

At the Ingalls Special Care Nursery, we offer advanced equipment, technology and health services for critically ill infants, including:

• Oxygen and respiratory monitoring for babies experiencing breathing difficulties
• IVs for the delivery of special medications
• Incubators and other assistance to maintain body temperature
• Feeding assistance
• Ventilator support