At NewYork-Presbyterian, newborn care specialists provide women and newborns with exceptional care from delivery until the time mother and baby are ready to go home. Newborn care begins in the delivery room and extends to the hospital's postpartum or neonatal unit. This includes:

  • Newborn care after vaginal delivery or Cesarean delivery
  • Newborn screening, health assessments, breastfeeding or formula feeding support, immunizations, circumcision if desired by parents, and preparation for caring for the newborn at home
  • Consultations with pediatric subspecialists for any specialized needs of the newborn

Newborn Care in the Delivery Room

Delivery

Few experiences are as wondrous as the birth of a new baby. NewYork-Presbyterian is nationally recognized for optimizing a newborn's health, including:

  • Delivery care - Whether you plan for a vaginal or Cesarean delivery, our staff is experienced in meeting all of these needs
  • Newborn screening - Before your baby leaves the hospital, they will undergo a hearing screening and simple blood test that screens for more than 50 metabolic and genetic disorders. Screening is designed to identify newborns with the potential for one of these disorders. Further testing is then required to verify whether or not your newborn has the disorder.
  • Circumcision - This surgery to remove the penile foreskin can usually be done in the hospital soon after birth, if the parents desire
  • Neonatal care - While most of the (almost 26,000) babies delivered each year room-in with their mothers on the postpartum unit or receive care in the Well Baby Nursery, we care for premature infants and those with medical complexities in our more advanced Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) Nursery
  • Health Screenings and Documentation-Before your baby leaves the hospital, they will undergo several tests to check for various conditions and diseases that cannot be seen on observation but may cause health problems.

Our Services for Newborns and Mothers

Advanced Care

NewYork-Presbyterian pregnancy and birth care offer newborn care basics and infant care to mothers and their partners throughout the hospital stay, which includes:

  • Newborn care basics - This includes everything from baby feeding to bath and skin care, diapering, mother/infant bonding, and baby safety
  • Postpartum mother care - The fourth trimester — the first 12 weeks after giving birth — is just as important for a mother's health as her first three trimesters
  • Well baby nursery - Healthy infants are cared for in the Well Baby Nurseries at NewYork-Presbyterian Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns and the Sloane Hospital for Women at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
  • Care of infants with complex conditions - Our neonatologists have the expertise and latest technologies to care for premature infants, infants with chronic lung disease, cardiac anomalies, congenital disabilities, and genetic disorders
  • Neonatal intensive care unit - Our neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are among the country's busiest and most highly regarded units
  • Neonatal comfort care program - Our expert and compassionate multidisciplinary teamwork makes babies with life-limiting conditions or terminal illnesses as comfortable as possible
  • Neonatal follow-up programs - If your newborn was in one of our NICUs, these unique programs monitor and support their growth and development for the first three years of life
  • Patient education - NewYork-Presbyterian offers childbirth and breastfeeding classes for our obstetric patients on topics such as breastfeeding, postpartum care, and how to care for your newborn
  • Wondering whether your newborn can "room in" with you, or when they get their first bath? You can get answers to these questions and more on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
  • Newborn feeding- We recognize and fully support a new mother’s choice of feeding for her newborn — breastfeeding, formula, or a combination of both
  • Specialized Perinatal Care- Perinatal care is health care for both mother and baby before, during, and after childbirth

Our Team of Experts in Neonatology

Our Team

Our mission is to provide the highest quality care for mothers and their newborn babies. Our expert neonatologists collaborate with medical subspecialists from various disciplines to provide your newborn's absolute best healthcare plan. Our experts in cardiology, neurology, pediatric surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and gastroenterology work together to improve the outcomes of even the most vulnerable and tiniest infant patients.

Our Approach to Care

Approach to Care

Exceptional Care from Birth to Early Childhood

Our pediatricians, neonatalogists, specialty physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners have exceptional qualifications and training in the care of pregnant women and newborns. Because many different caregivers are involved in each patient's care, they must share information among themselves and with parents to work efficiently as a team. Every step of the way, you are integrally involved in the decision-making process related to your newborn's care.

Family-centered care

Our family-centered care approach encourages keeping your baby with you at your bedside in your single room. This allows you to bond with your child, get to know your child's behaviors, and help meet their feeding needs, whether you have chosen bottle-feeding or breastfeeding. However, if you feel the need to rest or are not feeling well, your baby can be cared for in our Newborn Nursery.

Leaders in neonatololgy

Our physicians have pioneered many of the techniques widely used in perinatal and neonatal medicine today. They are conducting research to advance the field further, benefiting mothers and their newborns everywhere.

Continuity of care

Our devotion to your child's health and wellbeing does not end when you go home. Neonatologists, physical and occupational therapists, and nutritionists evaluate the neurodevelopmental and nutritional progress of infants in the NICU as part of our Neonatal Follow-Up Program. High-risk infants are evaluated for six years. Specialized neonatal nutrition program services for infants and toddlers are provided during hospitalization in the NICU and continue through the program.

Why Choose Us

Why Choose Us

Comprehensive & Multidisciplinary Care for the Most Fragile Newborns

At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, you and your baby benefit from the expertise of an academic medical center delivered in a family-centered setting. As one of New York's top hospitals, we are one of a handful of regional referral centers for high-risk pregnancies. Our compassionate physicians and hospital staff have the experience and resources to provide you and your newborn with exceptional care from delivery until you are ready to go home, giving you the guidance, support, and education you need to begin your new lives together.

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital are both New York State Department of Health-designated Regional Perinatal Centers, a distinction given to facilities committed to delivering the highest level of prenatal and newborn care to healthy and the sickest newborn infants.

Innovative Approaches & Lifesaving Treatments

NewYork-Presbyterian is nationally recognized for optimizing the health of newborns and minimizing risk in the tiniest, most fragile newborns with our innovative approaches and lifesaving treatments. We have one of the best infant survival rates among NICUs nationally, and the lowest rates of chronic lung disease in the U.S. We are recognized by the National Institutes of Health for excellence and expertise in the gentle ventilation of neonates, the standard of care in early, acute lung disease in extremely preterm infants. Our devotion to your newborn continues long after discharge, with comprehensive neonatal and nutritional follow-up programs to promote your newborn's growth and development

Stay Amazing Stories

The specialists who worked with him were just amazing. The doctors, NICU team, nurses and nurse practitioners, and EMS personnel who transported him to the hospital all played a role in his recovery," said AC. "They became like family to us."

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Miles

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