Children's Hospital

Divisions/Specialties

Division of Neonatology

The Neonatology Division maintains a 40-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)and offers comprehensive evaluation and treatment for all critically ill neonates, including extremely low birth-weight infants and those with surgical, genetic and cardiac conditions. Specialists are available 24 hours a day.

A specialized neonatal transport team, based at the University of Maryland Medical Center, provides ambulance and helicopter transportation for critically ill infants throughout the state.

Patient Conditions

• Extreme prematurity (23-25 weeks gestation)
• Respiratory distress syndrome
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• Necrotizing enterocolitis
• Congenital heart disease
• Genetic syndromes and metabolic disorders
• Surgical conditions

Comprehensive Evaluations

• Prenatal consultation with parents with high-risk pregnancies
• Lactation support for breast-feeding mothers of hospitalized infants
• Physical and occupational therapy for hospitalized neonates
• Nutrition consultation on patients receiving parenteral nutrition

Specialized Treatments

• High-frequency oscillation ventilation
• Neonatal synchronized ventilator respiratory support
• Nitric oxide therapy
• Laser and cryotherapy for retinopathy
• Peritoneal dialysis
• Continuous EEG monitoring

Research Activities

• Inflammatory mediators in chronic lung disease
• Role of Ureaplasma urealyticum in lung injury
• Pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis
• Mechanisms of brain injury in the pre-term and term infant

Special Programs

• NICU Follow-Up Program coordinates neurodevelopmental screening from birth through age 3 and provides multidisciplinary support (nutrition, speech and language, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc.) for graduates of the NICU and on children from other NICUs; the team also provides consultation on unresolved medical problems following discharge.
• Lactation consultation service for all breast-feeding mothers
• Kangaroo Care

Services to Physicians

• Consultation on complicated cases
• Educational outreach program to referring hospitals
• Assistance with outpatient management of NICU graduates
• Special treatment procedures
• Assistance with short-term and long-term management of residual newborn medical conditions