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After Delivery

Intensive Care

After birth, your baby’s body needs to adjust to a new world.

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Intensive Care Neonatal Intensive Care Family Guide

Intensive Care

After birth, your baby’s body needs to adjust to a new world and can sometimes have difficult making the transition.

This is especially true if they are born prematurely, have a difficult delivery or have any birth defects.

Christiana Hospital is the only high risk delivering hospital in Delaware offering Level III neonatal intensive care. The NICU provides 24/7 onsite board certified neonatologists. Our neonatal intensive-care unit is fully equipped with the technology and personnel to provide the highest standards of acute care for the newest members of the families we serve.

To learn more about our neonatal intensive care services, call 302-301-3400.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Our highly trained staff is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for newborns. Everything from the sound-absorbing materials in the flooring and the walls to the controlled lighting and personalized space around each baby’s bed reflects our commitment to family-centered, developmentally appropriate neonatal care.

Our climate-controlled nursery alcoves can accommodate up to three infants in separate beds and are fully equipped for all procedures performed for baby in the nursery.

Babies receive continuous hands-on care while also being monitored by computer and real-time, closed-circuit TV. A separate admitting/observation room helps maintain calm, quiet surroundings for infants in the alcoves. An on-site pharmacy provides parent education about babies’ medicines and makes the dispensing of medications efficient and safe. The self-contained unit has two isolation rooms for specialized procedures and emergency surgery.

Family Guide

A family guide was developed to help you through your baby’s stay with us in the NICU.

As a parent, you are an important member of the team and we want you to be involved as much as possible. Our NICU team will provide exceptional care to your baby and we will teach you to care for your baby while your baby is in the NICU.

Family-centered care

In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, we recognize and respect the special relationship between families and their babies. We believe mothers and fathers are important members of our interdisciplinary neonatal-care team. Parents are encouraged to spend as much hands-on time with their baby as possible. Siblings, grandparents and other visitors are welcome, two at a time. Three quiet rooms are available in the neonatal intensive-care unit.

These rooms may be used for mothers to breastfeed their babies, view educational tapes or spend some restful time away from baby’s bedside. Closed circuit TV monitors allow parents to stay in visual contact with their infants from these rooms.

A comfort room for visitors complete with a children’s play area and kitchenette is supplied with snacks in collaboration with the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware. Baby sitting is available in this room for visiting children.

Visit our family room

When your baby is ready to go home, you will have the opportunity to spend the night before discharge in our family overnight room. Here you can care for your baby confident in the knowledge that our nursery staff are nearby to offer advice and support. ChristianaCare home health care nurses and members of our family care committee will stay in touch with you after your baby leaves the hospital to help ease the transition home.

Medical team

Your baby’s medical team includes neonatologists, neonatal fellows, residents, neonatal nurse practitioners, nurses and patient-care technicians. Other health care professionals, including respiratory and occupational therapists, nutritionists and social workers, are available to assist you and your baby. Members of the team are here for you and your baby 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Neonatal transport team

Our specially trained neonatal transport team is on-call to bring babies born throughout the state and surrounding areas to Christiana Hospital, day or night, for intensive medical care. A fleet of ambulances with life-sustaining equipment for our tiniest patients is supported by LifeNet, our helicopter ambulance service, for quick and safe travel to and from the hospital.