Critically Ill Infants

For more than 40 years, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children's Hospital have made groundbreaking discoveries in neonatology, or the care of critically ill newborns. We established one of the world's first  intensive care nurseries (ICN) in 1964. Today, our 50-bed Intensive Care Nursery, sometimes referred to as a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), treats more than 1,000 critically ill babies each year. Many parents and their babies travel from throughout the West — even the nation and the world — to get care here.

Our team, including specially trained neonatologists, is one of the world's most experienced in the care of newborns with life-threatening birth defects and premature births as well as the care of infants who undergo heart, lung and gastrointestinal surgery. Our neonatal heart program is one of the largest in the country, treating almost 200 newborns with heart disease each year, while our fetal treatment experts are world leaders in performing surgery in the womb to correct birth defects.

We are certified by the state of California as a Regional Intensive Care Nursery, meaning we provide all levels of newborn intensive care. The nursery is organized into two specialized units — one for premature babies and the other for complex birth defects. Each unit has a dedicated doctor and nursing staff and state-of-the-art equipment to provide advanced life support for the smallest infants.

For more information, please see our glossary of terms and Parents' Guide.

An ICN House Staff Manual is available online for doctors and other health professionals.

For health professionals, UCSF Children's Hospital has streamlined the process for transferring, transporting and admitting pregnant and neonatal patients.

The toll-free Physician Admitting Hotline is (877) UC-CHILD or (877) 822-4453.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated November 19, 2007