The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The birth of a baby is a wonderful yet very complex process. Many physical and emotional changes occur for mother and baby.

A baby must make many physical adjustments to life outside the mother's body. Leaving the uterus means that a baby can no longer depend on the mother's circulation and placenta for important physiologic functions.

Baby in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Before birth, breathing, eating, elimination of waste, and immunologic protection all came from the mother. When a baby enters the world, many body systems change dramatically from the way they functioned during fetal life:

• The lungs must breathe air.
• The cardiac and pulmonary circulation changes.
• The digestive system must begin to process food and excrete waste.
• The kidneys must begin working to balance fluids and chemicals in the body and excrete waste.
• The liver and immunologic systems must begin functioning independently.

Your baby's body systems must work together in a new way. Sometimes, a baby has difficulty making the transition to the world. Being born prematurely, having a difficult delivery, or birth defects can make these changes more challenging. Fortunately for these babies, special newborn care is available.