You may be surprised to learn that of the 3,205 babies born at Valley in 2005, 395 (more than 12 percent) were admitted to Valley’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. More than 50 of those babies weighed less than 4 pounds and 31 weighed less than 3 pounds. Some babies stayed in the NICU a few hours or a few days; some remained for more than three months.

Happily, because of the superior care provided by Valley’s neonatal specialists, more than 99 percent of babies cared for in the NICU have very successful outcomes with a very low complication rate, even for the most critically ill babies.

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 four full-time, 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; and Michelle Lasker, 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.

Happily 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, or NICU for special newborn care.

Babies in the NICU are the usually the tiniest of newborns, often born prematurely. And they are the most medially fragile and in need of 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.

For more information on The Center for Childbirth, please call (201) 447-8403 or e-mail us at webinfo@valleyhealth.com. Tours of The Center for Childbirth are available and reservations can be made by calling the Women, Children and Family Education Office at (201) 291-6151. For patient-related questions, please call (201) 447-8400.

The Valley Hospital offers a wide array of women's and children's services, including Maternal-Fetal Medicine, The Center for Childbirth, The Center for Women, Children and Family Education, and The Kireker Center for Child Development. Maternal and Child Health services are provided in the home by Valley Home Care.