Advanced Care for Newborns

DMC and Children's Hospital of Michigan Advanced Care

Physicians throughout Michigan refer their high-risk obstetrics patients to DMC Women and Infant Services, in part because of the neonatal care available, and the maternal special care unit at DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital, which is the only one in the tri-country area.

NICU vs. Special Care Nursery (SCN)

Across the DMC we have both Special Care Nurseries and Neo Natal Intensive Care Units (NICU). While NICU is reserved for critically ill infants, our Special Care Nurseries (SCN) provide care and monitoring for newborns facing complications during their first days of life, but not critically ill.

Special Care Nurseries

A step below the level of advanced care available in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the Special Care Nursery (SCN) at both DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital and DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, provide specialized care and monitoring for newborns who are facing complications during their first days of life. The SCN is staffed by specially trained nurses and respiratory therapists and is prepared for several therapies, including IV, oxygen, nutritional and phototherapy.

Neonatal Intensive Care Units

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital and DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital provide advanced care to critically ill newborns and premature babies, some delivered as early as 23 weeks. Whether they are born at a DMC hospital or transferred from another hospital, infants here receive multidisciplinary care from our team of specialists, including:

• Physicians specializing in neonatology
• Registered nurses with extensive training in newborn care
• Neonatal pharmacist
• Respiratory therapists

Children's Hospital of Michigan NICU

Additionally, our nationally acclaimed Children’s Hospital of Michigan provides the highest level of neonatal care for the sickest and most high risk infants. As a Regional Level IV NICU, the hospital has the capability to provide surgical repair of complex congenital or acquired conditions and maintains a comprehensive range of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists and pediatric anesthesiologists on site. It is a leader in cooling therapy for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, repair of abdominal wall defects and care of infants with chronic lung disease.

Children’s Hospital of Michigan’s Pediatric and Neonatal Ambulance service (PANDA One) serves as a mobile extension of the hospital, providing highly specialized care and transport of critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients from all over Michigan.

In addition to our NICUs, our locations offer specialized neonatal care in other areas:

• DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital has pediatric specialty services in hematology, nephrology, endocrinology, neurology, gastrointestinal, infectious diseases, genetics and dysmorphology.
• Our nationally acclaimed Children’s Hospital of Michigan provides a continuum of advanced care for newborns, including pediatric cardiology, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery, pediatric orthopedics and more than 40 subspecialties. They are ranked by U.S. News and World Report 2023-2024 as a Best Children’s Hospital in four pediatric specialties:
• Cancer
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
• Neurology & Neurosurgery
• Urology

To learn more about advanced pediatric care, visit the Advanced Pediatric Care page.

Family Centered Care in the Special Care Nursery and NICU

While our staff provides highly-specialized medical and nursing care, we encourage parents to participate in the basic care and nurturing of their infant, to help meet the developmental needs of your newborn --feeding, bathing, comforting and holding the baby. This helps ensure parents are ready to take care of the baby when it is time to go home.