What Sets Us Apart
Clinical Care l Research l Education
Regionalized Neonatal Care
Neonatologists in the Division of Neonatology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center provide direct clinical care for the majority of infants born in our region, as we staff all of the nurseries in the region, including three newborn intensive care units (NICU).
- The Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care (RCNIC) at Cincinnati Children's, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, provides the highest level of medical care to premature and critically ill newborns.
- Good Samaritan Hospital's 56-bed unit, a state-of-the-art Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, provides care for newborns who require extra attention.
- University Hospital's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, is dedicated to integrating the lives of parents and their babies and is equipped to provide care for even the most critical babies.
Our neonatologists also partner with local pediatricians and obstetrical, perinatal and neonatal services at most birth hospitals in the Greater Cincinnati region to assess newborns and provide Level II special care. There are effective programs for outreach, education and quality improvement at these hospitals.
Greater Cincinnati's regionalized approach to neonatal care improves our ability to:
- Identify high-risk mothers and infants
- Collaborate in decisions regarding optimal sites and timing of delivery
- Ensure optimal resuscitation at birth
- Provide safe transport to special care sites
Our High-Risk Follow-up Clinic provides infants with a bridge from hospital to home, enabling high-risk infants to be safely transitioned to their families and local pediatricians.
Fetal Care
The Fetal Care Center of Cincinnati provides remarkable advances in the diagnosis and treatment of complex maternal and fetal conditions. Mothers and infants at risk are often recognized early in pregnancy. Perinatal and neonatal care can be optimized for problems of the uterus, placenta and fetus, including congenital malformations affecting many organ systems.
Specialized Clinical Care
Advances in programs at Cincinnati Children's in fetal and neonatal surgery, otolaryngology, pulmonology, cardiology, gastroenterology, urology, neurology and genetics, to name a few, are transforming perinatal care and offer extraordinary opportunities to improve the health of infants.
The Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has extensive training in evaluating and treating congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Team members involved in the multidisciplinary care these infants and families receive include specialists in newborn intensive care, pediatric surgery, nursing, respiratory therapy, nutrition therapy and occupational therapy / physical therapy.
Cincinnati Children's offers extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a heart/lung support machine used to treat temporary heart or lung failure. The ECMO program has treated over 500 patients since it was established in 1985.
Lactation and Nutrition
Cincinnati Children's and all regional obstetrical and neonatal services support programs to ensure that newborns are provided optimal nutrition after birth. Research in lactation and nutrition is well established at Cincinnati Children's. Ardythe Morrow, PhD, leads basic, translational and population-based studies related to breast milk and breastfeeding, locally and internationally.
For most infants, breastfeeding is considered optimal. Sheela Geraghty, MD, leads the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine, where staff assists in coordinating lactation-related education, research and clinical activities to enhance breastfeeding for infants hospitalized at Cincinnati Children's and in the community.
The challenge of providing nutrition to extremely ill neonates or those who have undergone significant surgical procedures requires complex and expert nutritional support. At Cincinnati Children's, staff from our divisions in Gastroenterology, Human Genetics, Neonatology, Pulmonary Medicine, the Aerodigestive and Sleep Center and other specialties provide expertise for infants with complex feeding and nutritional problems.
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Cincinnati Children's is an unusually rich environment for health care research. Faculty have expertise in the social sciences, public health, epidemiology, process and quality improvement, health care economics and advocacy policy, as well as the more traditional avenues of basic science, translational research and clinical trials.
World-class basic research relevant to perinatalogy is under way at Cincinnati Children's in many specialties, including:
Education permeates all levels of clinical care and research within the Perinatal Institute. Our comprehensive training programs provide opportunities in advanced patient care along with opportunities to participate in cutting-edge basic, clinical and translational research. Learn more about the Perinatal Institute's educational offerings.
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