What to expect at St. Louis Children’s Hospital NICU
Each year, St. Louis Children’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) cares for more than 1,400 babies who require specialized medical assistance after birth. Newborns come from across the region to receive our expert care, whether they are babies born severely premature or full-term infants who require additional attention.
We want you to feel confident in the care your child receives while they are a patient in the NICU. When you arrive at the NICU, you will receive a parent guide booklet containing detailed information about the NICU, your baby’s stay, medical information and developmental milestones. Still, you may have questions. Below, find some answers to the most frequently asked questions about our NICU.
Will I be able to hold my baby in the NICU?
It depends on your baby’s health, but in many cases, yes.
In general, we encourage you to practice kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin contact, with your baby. Holding baby close on your bare chest is a special time for you to bond and promotes:
- Successful breastfeeding
- Increased breast milk supply
- Faster weight gain
- Quicker healing
- Increased confidence in caring for baby
- Healthy brain development
- Regulated temperature and blood sugar
While you practice kangaroo care, your nurse will help you hold your baby and monitor their heart rate, oxygen saturation, breathing rate and temperature.
Some babies born earlier than 28 weeks gestation or weighing less than 1000 grams need minimal light, sound and other stimulus to help reduce their stress and overstimulation, which helps with their development. Our NICU features dedicated space for these infants. In these cases, you may be encouraged to practice physical touch in ways other than holding.
Can I stay overnight with my baby while they’re in the NICU?
Our NICU features 150 beds, including intensive care beds, transitional care beds and family participation rooms where parents can stay with their baby before heading home. If you are in a private room in the NICU, you may stay overnight with your baby. Your room will feature a pull-out sofa, similar to typical mother-baby rooms. If your baby is not in a private room, we offer a limited number of rooms where parents can stay overnight.
What are the guidelines for visiting the NICU?
We encourage parents to visit their baby whenever possible — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Parents may bring siblings ages 2 years or older to visit new brothers or sisters, provided they are free from contagious illnesses. Parents will be asked to provide a list of other relatives or friends who have permission to visit. Due to space limitations, we request that each baby has only two visitors in the NICU at a time. Waiting rooms are available just outside the NICU for additional visitors.
What should I pack for the NICU?
Our NICU is stocked with everything you and our providers need to care for your baby. However, there may be other items that you’d like to bring to make our NICU feel more like home. Some of these items might include:
- Baby clothes: We will have newborn- and preemie-sized clothing for baby to wear in the hospital. However, if there is a special article of clothing you’d like to dress your infant in, we encourage you to check with your nurse to make sure you’re able to clothe your infant. You may also want to write your name on the tag for safekeeping.
- Clothes for parents: If you are staying overnight at the NICU, you’ll want to bring a change of clothes. A shirt that buttons or zips is helpful for practicing kangaroo care. You may also consider bringing an article of clothing that you can leave behind with baby. Your baby can recognize you by your scent, and having this special clothing will comfort them.
- Toiletries: Our Center for Families and the Ronald McDonald House also have these amenities available for families should you need anything.
- A water bottle with a lid: Keeping water handy to drink throughout the day is important for establishing breast milk supply.
- A way to document milestones: Whether you want to journal or take photos, we encourage you to celebrate and document each milestone your baby reaches in the NICU.
Will I be able to bond with my baby while they’re in the NICU?
Yes, and bonding is important not only for baby, but also for parents. At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, we want you to be active in your baby’s care — you are one of the most important members of their care team — so you can bond. Some of the ways you can provide this care and bond with your baby include:
- Providing breast milk for your baby and feeding them when possible
- Holding and touching your baby, as well as participating in kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact)
- Learning baby’s cues for hunger, stress and comfort and responding to them
- Reading and talking to baby
- Participating in scent cloth therapy. Our therapy team will help you create a scent cloth from a piece of your clothing that you can leave near baby’s head or chest. Your baby will recognize your scent, which will comfort them and reinforce your bond.
What family accommodations do you offer in the NICU?
We understand that you may need a place to relax, eat, shower or do laundry during your baby’s stay in the NICU. To make your stay as comfortable as possible, we offer:
- Family nutrition rooms: Dining and sitting areas with vending machines provide quick and convenient access to drinks and snacks without leaving the NICU.
- Ronald McDonald Family Room (5th Floor): This space includes laundry facilities, bathrooms with showers, a living room with a TV and games, computer access and a kitchen.
What is family-centered care?
Our newborn team believes that families are essential participants in their baby’s care team and contribute to the healing process of their newborn. That’s why we practice family-centered care, an approach in which a patient’s family and health care professionals partner in the care of the newborn in a way that benefits everyone involved. (A family is recognized as anyone whom a patient’s parents regard as significant in their lives.) Our promise to you includes:
- Health care providers will communicate and share all relevant information with patients’ families in affirming and productive ways.
- The strengths — rather than the limitations — of mom, baby and family will be the focus in care.
- Families will be connected with others dealing with similar health issues for emotional, spiritual and practical support.
We approach family-centered care by encouraging parents to ask questions, make requests, become involved in discharge planning, and learn all they can about the care and treatment of their baby. You know your baby best, and we value your input in his or her care plan. We invite you to attend daily rounds, which take place 8-10 a.m. During this time, the medical team will discuss your baby’s care plan. Rounds include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, social workers, respiratory therapists and others.
In addition to rounds, family meetings are a time when you can review your baby’s care plan. If you think a meeting would help your family, ask your baby’s doctor or nurse to arrange one.
What support options are available to me while my baby is in the NICU?
Having a newborn in the NICU can be a stressful and challenging time. We offer families support options and resources to help with their stay and transition home. Some of these include:
- Education and resources
- Bedside support
- Lactation consultants
- Parent education classes
- Sibling playroom
- NICU Family Partners, or support from former NICU families
- Center for Families, including education and recommendations
What will happen when my baby is ready to leave the NICU?
Transitioning from the NICU is an emotional moment filled with relief, joy, anxiety and uncertainty. To prepare you for this next step, whether your baby is transferring to a NICU closer to home or going home with continued medical needs, we offer:
- Overnight stay options: You can stay overnight in your baby’s room or our family participation unit to practice caring for your baby with the same devices you'll be using at home.
- Discharge coordination: A dedicated discharge coordinator will help identify necessary services, coordinate follow-up appointments and work with your insurance company to ensure a smooth transition.
- Follow-up care: Many babies with medical problems and developmental delays still need specialized care and monitoring after they’re discharged. Our Newborn Medicine Clinic provides ongoing care for NICU graduates through the age of 2 or 3. We also offer several follow-up programs in multidisciplinary specialty clinics for specific conditions including:
Contact us about NICU admission
If you are seeking a second opinion or wish to transfer your infant to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children's Hospital, your baby’s doctor can arrange the transfer by contacting the Children's direct physician access line at 800-678-HELP (4357). Our specially trained critical care transport team is available day or night to respond.
For those diagnosed with a congenital defect or anomaly wanting to consult a neonatologist or other pediatric specialist before your infant's birth, please ask your doctor to reach out to the Fetal Care Center by contacting 866-867-3627. A nurse coordinator from the Fetal Care Center will assist with coordinating appointments, tests and NICU tours.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital is located at One Children’s Place, St. Louis, MO 63110.
