< Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Admissions Information

There are many things to know about when your baby is being admitted to the NICU at Arkansas Children's. Some of those things are:

  • A member of the transport team will call you when your child arrives at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
  • When your baby arrives, the team will examine your baby and place them on a vital sign monitor.
  • Monitors are used to watch your baby's heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and oxygen level. Sometimes a machine will help your baby breath or give your baby nutrition in the form of intravenous (IV) fluids.
  • There is a Neonatologist (doctor who specializes in caring for sick babies), a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and a resident in the hospital 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to care for your baby.

NICU Pods

  • The NICU is divided into 9 different PODS (open rooms with several babies in each room) and 22 multipurpose rooms. Infants are admitted into a POD with other patients or a multipurpose room. 
  • Your baby may move bed spaces several times during his/her stay in the NICU in order to provide the best care possible for your infant as his/her needs change.
  • Once your baby is close to going, you may move to the South Wing into a multipurpose room to learn all of his/her care needs.  
     

Handling Your Baby

  • Your baby's health and the type of medical devices monitoring him/her determine whether your baby can be held.
  • Your baby is ready to interact with you from your first visit; it just might not be how you expect.
  • Your baby's nurse can help you identify ways to appropriately interact with your baby.
  • Skin to skin holding is encouraged if your baby is stable enough. This will assist with bonding, improve milk production for lactation and support neurodevelopmental growth.

    Things to remember when handling your baby include:

  • Very sick babies are sometimes overstimulated by even minimal handling and noise.
  • Premature babies have underdeveloped nervous systems, and stroking or rubbing may be painful rather than soothing.
  • Your nurse will show you how to touch your baby by containing and providing a feeling of security.
  • When your infant's behavior shows that touch needs to be limited, your presence is still supportive. Your baby will know your voice and smell.
  • Learn how to help your baby's health by breastfeeding.