Valley’s 15-bed NICU has been designated by the State of New Jersey as a Level III nursery, a designation given to neonatal units able to provide the highest level of care for high-risk mothers and acutely ill newborns.

Comprehensive medical care is provided by board-certified neonatologists, who are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week. These neonatologists are: Frank Manginello, MD; Carly Pané, MD; Beth Benjamin, MD; Michelle Lasker, MD; and Christiana Farkouh-Karoleski, MD. In addition, Valley’s neonatology team also includes highly skilled neonatal nurses, dedicated respiratory therapists, pediatric pharmacists, pediatric occupational/physical therapists, social workers and lactation consultants.

All medical care is delivered in a manner designed to support the parents as well as the baby and to optimize family-centered care. For example, mothers are taught and encouraged to provide “kangaroo care” or skin-to-skin contact with premature infants. And breastfeeding is encouraged and supported whenever possible.

Most babies are born without problems, but sometimes a baby has difficulty making the complex transition to life outside the womb. A premature or difficult delivery, a pregnancy with multiple babies, or the presence of a birth defect may require that a newborn be admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for special newborn care.

Babies in the NICU are usually the tiniest of newborns, often born prematurely. In addition to being fragile, they require specialized medical and nursing care.

A baby’s admission to the NICU, particularly if it is unexpected, is very stressful for parents. Fortunately, The Valley Hospital offers a technologically advanced NICU staffed by a highly trained neonatology team, so you can rest assured that should your baby need to be admitted to Valley’s NICU he or she will receive the highest quality of care available.

Obviously, all expectant parents hope that their baby will be healthy and thankfully, most pregnancies and deliveries do go smoothly. But if problems arise, Valley’s neonatology team will provide your newborn with the specialized care needed to get him or her off to the best possible start in life.

Every child admitted to the NICU is evaluated to determine if follow-up care will be needed at the Kireker Center for Child Development.

For more information on neonatal services, please call 201-447-8388 or e-mail us at webinfo@valleyhealth.com. A consultation with a neonatologist and/or a tour of the NICU is available upon request.

If you plan to rent a Symphony hospital-grade electric breast pump, please click here for contact information on local Medela breast pump rental stations. Please be sure to check with your insurance company to determine your benefit.