Neonatal & Perinatal Services

Whether you face a challenging pregnancy and delivery, or you want to be well prepared for the unexpected, rely on the highly trained neonatal-perinatal medicine specialists at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital at OU Health in Oklahoma City.

Comprehensive Care for Oklahoma’s Premature & Full-Term Infants

At OU Health’s statewide and regional neonatal-perinatal referral center, you and your baby receive the special care you need for problems detected during pregnancy or following birth.

You’ll work with a multidisciplinary team of neonatologists, pediatric specialists and other healthcare professionals with years of experience and advanced training in stabilizing newborns and infants affected by life-challenging conditions such as infections, breathing difficulties, premature birth, critical injuries, congenital disorders or serious diseases.

Family-Centered Care

While at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, you and your newborn stay in a family-friendly suite with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that allows you to bond with your baby using skin-to-skin and kangaroo care. In addition, you’ll receive support to prepare for and practice breastfeeding.

From your beautiful, spacious room on the 7th floor, you’ll enjoy the expansive view of Oklahoma City’s skyline and horizon while you and your loved ones enjoy your time together as a family. If your baby needs special care but you’re unable to stay here all the time, you can access the NICVIEW camera system to see your baby in the NICU. Learn more in our Baby Care Booklet (pdf).

Oklahoma’s Only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

No matter where you live in Oklahoma or across the region, you and your baby can take advantage of the expert services at Oklahoma’s only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Nationally recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics to provide the highest level of care possible, the NICU offers the full spectrum of pediatric medical and surgical specialties for newborns with high-risk health conditions.

Advanced Neonatal-Perinatal Services & Treatments

When you choose Oklahoma Children's Hospital's neonatal-perinatal medicine services in Oklahoma City, you and your baby immediately benefit from innovative treatments that result from ongoing research conducted by OU Health scientists and investigators.

You and your team also may select care and treatment options from a wide range of neonatal-perinatal medicine services and advanced technologies such as conventional and oscillator ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide therapy to boost oxygen levels, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for cardiac and respiratory support, and exchange transfusion to manage blood-related conditions. In the NICU at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health, you and your baby gain access to:

• Dedicated mother-baby unit beds
• Neo Flight or Medi Flight air ambulance and ground ambulance transfers from other medical facilities
• Emergency care for unexpectedly ill newborns
• Diagnostic services for newborns with complex medical issues
• Nutritional care of critically ill newborns to ensure proper healing and growth
• Consultations with pediatric sub-specialists who can explore a situation in depth
• Supportive care based on standards of the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP), a care and intervention approach focused on infant behavioral cues
• Follow-up services for NICU "graduates" with ongoing conditions, such as chronic lung disease
• Sleep studies for infants and children on an inpatient or outpatient basis
• Assistance to arrange extended stays at nearby hotels or for rooming-in at the OU Health Women’s & Newborn Center in Oklahoma City

As an expectant mother, learn more about what to expect during your prenatal visits.

Neonatal Village for NICU Babies
As you get ready to return home with baby after your stay in the NICU, you’ll gain the skills to care for your little one through Oklahoma Children's Hospital's Neonatal Village, a special nursery area for parents that features private rooms for families to stay together in a homelike environment and practice new childcare skills before leaving the hospital.

When baby “graduates” from the NICU, you and your newborn receive follow-up care and testing to support appropriate growth and development milestones.

Your Expert Neonatal & Perinatal Services Team

If your pregnancy or your newborn needs special attention, you want a highly trained medical team ready to care for you and your baby 24/7. At Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, you can rely on the neonatal-perinatal experts to collaborate with you and ensure you and your baby receive outstanding, comprehensive care throughout a potentially uncertain situation. Your neonatal-perinatal care team may include:

• Neonatologists – Pediatricians with advanced training in intensive care newborn medicine; also includes intensivists and neonatology fellows
• Pediatricians – Doctors who hold specialization in the care of children
• Pediatric surgeons – Pediatricians with additional training in surgical procedures specifically for children
• Resident physicians (residents, fellows, interns) – Doctors at various points of intensive training in a medical specialty
• Neonatal nurse practitioners – Registered nurses (RNs) with advanced education and training to provide care to critically ill newborns
• Clinical nurses – RNs who provide continuous care for your baby
• Clinical nurse partners – People in nursing school who work under the supervision of registered clinical nurses
• Charge nurses – Clinical nurses who supervise and coordinate nursing activities of the hospital unit
• Experts from diverse areas – Case manager, speech-language pathologist, spiritual care (chaplains), lactation and breastfeeding specialists, developmental and behavioral therapy, transport, occupational therapy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, social work, volunteers and “cuddlers” with special training to comfort and hold your baby when you can’t be in the nursery

Your Oklahoma Children's Hospital care team in Oklahoma City also may involve specialists such as obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) physicians (also known as perinatologists), certified nurse midwives (CNM) or other experts during consultations to address your situation and your baby’s specific condition.