Our Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU)
Our Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) Main Content
Moms and babies need special types of care. We deliver both.
Jacksonville's highest level of newborn care
If your baby needs nursery support or intensive care after delivery, Baptist Health is where you want to be. Our NICU offers the highest level of technology and specialist expertise available.
We Expect the Unexpected
Babies who are born early or with a complex medical condition need specialized, around-the-clock care during their first days or months. Our team of neonatology experts provides the advanced care newborns and infants need to get stronger, healthier — and home.
Wolfson and Baptist are Family
We offer comprehensive newborn care that combines expertise, state-of-the-art technology and, when needed, the most cutting-edge surgical treatments. From separating conjoined twins to congenital diaphragmatic hernia surgery, our experienced neonatal care team excels in successful outcomes.
Learn more about what support in the NICU looks like and what parents and families need to know ahead of time.
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Compassionate and Comprehensive
The NICU can be an overwhelming place for new parents and we've made every effort to make ours friendly and intimate. You may see lots of machines, small babies on warming beds or incubators, hospital staff and other parents. Special attention is given to lighting, noise control and overall design to reduce stress on our tiniest patients. Nurses provide cluster care, which means they bundle care activity together to allow more of the uninterrupted rest infants need.
Your baby will be cared for by a team of providers, including neonatologists, pediatricians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses and therapists.
Treatment in our NICU comes with the full-range of resources of our nationally-recognized children’s hospital. That means quick access to 250 pediatric medical and surgical specialists when it matters most.
Parents are Part of the Team
We count on you because you’re a part of our caregiving team. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent or other guardian, you are encouraged to participate in the care and decision making. Our patient and family-centered care philosophy ensures that a partnership develops between patients, families and the health care team, with the common goal of enhancing quality of care, better outcomes, safety and satisfaction.
How can you care for your baby in the NICU?
We encourage parents to hold, feed, bathe and diaper their baby, as health allows. It’s OK if you feel nervous about doing these things. Your baby’s nurses can show you what to do. Kangaroo-care and rooming-in are encouraged as much as possible.
You can care for and hold your baby even if they're connected to medical equipment. It may take time and practice for you and your baby to get comfortable but you have support. We're here for you every step of the way.
There's Room For You
Helping babies survive and lead healthier lives is possible thanks to all the medical research and advances made over the last five decades. Wolfson Children's has been here through it all. As Jacksonville grows, so do we.
Our Critical Care Tower includes spacious new NICU floors and diagnostic technology. Along with state-of-the-art technology, we maximize natural light, which is proven to promote healing in infants and children, as well as postpartum mothers.
The Tower also integrates with Baptist Jacksonville’s high-risk obstetrics and neonatal delivery center and provide excellent care to families for decades to come.
Renting a Hospital-Grade Breast Pump
Hospital-grade breast pumps are recommended to help mothers establish and maintain milk supply when their baby is unable to nurse. We offer the Medela Symphony Hospital Grade Pump for rental on a monthly basis. This pump is clinically proven to support the initiation and maintenance of breast milk supply, increase production, and reduce pumping time through faster let-down and milk flow.
Our pumps come with the pump itself, case, bottle holder and cord to plug in the pump. You'll take the tubing you use in the hospital with you when you rent your pump.
Rental requires a $50 deposit and is $70 a month.
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Delivering at Baptist South and Baptist Clay
Our South campus is located at Interstate 95 and Old St. Augustine Road and includes expansive maternity suites and a Level 2 NICU.
Our Clay campus in Fleming Island also includes a Level 2 NICU, with rooms spacious and equipped for parents to room-in with their babies.
Should your baby require intensive nursery support at any of our Labor and Delivery Centers, transport to Wolfson Children's is always on hand and ready to go.
NICU Levels Explained
Level II NICU at Baptist South and Clay
This special care nursery is ideal for moderately pre-term babies and newborns who require close monitoring or intravenous medications after birth. Patients who require more complex care are transported to the NICU in our Critical Care Tower on Jacksonville's south bank.
Level IV NICU at Wolfson Children’s Hospital
Florida law around NICU Level distinction is in flux. However, our NICU meets requirement for Level IV by providing the highest level of care for babies who may need special surgery for birth defects and other disorders. This nursery has a full range of health care providers, including pediatric sub-specialists, specialized nurses and equipment to care for very sick babies. If you and/or your baby have medical complications, it’s ideal if you’re able to give birth at a hospital that can provide the right level of care for both of you.
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What You Need to Know About High-Risk Pregnancy
There are some complications that can cause a pregnancy to be considered high risk. Some may be related to pre-existing conditions that you had before becoming pregnant, while others may have developed during pregnancy or delivery. A high-risk pregnancy requires special precautions and additional monitoring. You may need special prenatal care.
Most pregnancies and deliveries progress without a problem. Baptist Health and Wolfson Children's is here if there's cause for greater concern. We're expecting you.