Newborn Medicine

A newborn infant with complications or premature delivery may require highly-specialized intensive care. As part of the Women & Infants Center, the newborn medicine team at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is ready to assist when specialized care is needed – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our newborn medicine team consists of over 20 neonatologists; nurses; pharmacists; respiratory therapists; speech, physical and occupational therapists; dietitians and social workers. In addition, pediatric surgical and medical specialists, including cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, neurologists and neurosurgeons, eye specialists, kidney specialists, genetic specialists and many others are available to consult on any diagnosis.

Our neonatologists not only provide state-of-the art medical care for infants, they’re also conducting nationally and internationally recognized research to improve medical treatment and outcomes for premature and critically-ill infants. We provide care for the sickest newborn at the highest level.

Advanced Care for Newborns

• A newly expanded 122-bed, Level IV newborn intensive care unit (NICU).
• Use of therapeutic hypothermia, beginning during transport, as the standard of care to reduce the chance of brain injury in infants with poor transition or low Apgar scores after birth.
• National leaders in providing a neonatal neuro-critical service including facilities for 24/7 availability of video EEG monitoring and the latest MRI brain scans to evaluate brain development and injury. In addition to this unique regional service, our neonatology group includes prominent international leaders in clinical neonatal neurology research.
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program to support ventilation and circulation for the heart and lungs.
• International leaders in understanding the relationship between bacteria and the consequences of prematurity.
• Family-centered care environment, encouraging parents and siblings to spend time with their new infant and supporting families.
• Unique program to evaluate and treat psychosocial and behavioral health needs of NICU mothers.
• Newborn medicine clinic, caring for the NICU graduate through age 5.
• International leaders in the genetics of lung disease.
• Fetal Care Center, a collaboration among Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University Physicians to provide
  continuity of care from the prenatal to postnatal period.
• Fetal Heart Center, providing advanced diagnostics and treatment, and follow-up care through the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Clinic.