Neonatology at Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The neonatologists in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia provide highly specialized care for your newborn and support for the whole family. They care for babies who are born preterm or with a condition that requires life support, such as help with breathing and feeding after birth. We help them survive and decrease their risk of long-term health problems. Our neonatal specialists have extensive training and experience and use state-of-the-art technology to help babies thrive.

Through it all, we understand how hard it is to have a baby in the NICU. We are committed to compassionate, high-level care to ensure our smallest patients have a fighting chance.

Level IV NICU

Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia is the region’s highest level NICU, with its Level IV unit offering some of the most advanced technology and skilled physicians in the Southeast. As a leading regional perinatal center, the NICU treats patients who need highly specialized care that many other regional perinatal centers cannot provide. Wellstar Children’s team members deliver skilled, coordinated care to meet the complex needs of premature babies and their families.

Our NICU offers:

• The largest team of neonatologists in the area: We’ve built a team of distinguished neonatal physicians and specialists, including a congenital heart surgeon. Together, they coordinate lifesaving care for critically ill newborns.


• Advanced treatment to keep babies’ hearts and lungs working: We are one of only two programs in Georgia to provide pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO is an artificial heart-lung bypass machine that provides oxygen to the blood and gives babies’ organs a chance to develop and heal so they can recover.


• Specialized nursing team: Our NICU has approximately 100 registered nurses who specialize in neonatal care, are certified in neonatal resuscitation and deliver one-on-one care when needed


• Dedicated pediatric respiratory therapists to help newborns breathe: These specialists provide ventilation services and breathing procedures to help newborns whose lungs did not develop properly during gestation or who have other breathing trouble. Other dedicated NICU team members include dieticians and pharmacists.


• State-of-the-art perinatal care facilities: Our NICU has more than 45 infant beds. Six of the infant beds are in a special area with a HEPA (high-efficiency) filter to protect babies from developing infections. We also offer an intermediate care nursery for babies who no longer need intensive life support.


• Neonatal air and ground transport team


• Neonatal follow-up program for children with ongoing medical needs

Our services

If you have a high-risk pregnancy, our specialists will start caring for you and your baby before you even give birth. And we’ll continue to care for you, as needed, during and after your delivery. We offer many services, including:

• Fetal Heart Program: If you are pregnant and your OB/GYN suspects something may be wrong with your baby's heart while still in the womb, we will refer you to our fetal heart specialist This program offers seamless care from prenatal consultation through surgery and postnatal care.


• Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program: Mothers or babies with health issues during pregnancy can see our maternal-fetal medicine physicians who specialize in high-risk pregnancies.


• Neonatal Transport Team: If your baby is born prematurely or is in medical distress, our specialized neonatal transport team can safely and quickly bring your child to our NICU. This dedicated team is ready to respond 24/7, and we will safely transfer critically ill infants by both ground and air transport. Wellstar AirCare includes dedicated, specially trained pediatric team members. 


• High-Risk Developmental Clinic: After discharge, we continue to care for your child through our High-Risk Developmental Clinic. We monitor and support their long-term health and development. 

Support for babies and parents after delivery

For any parent, the days after birth can be joyful, challenging and stressful—all at the same time. To help you prepare for these challenges, we offer:

• Neonatal nutritionists: We monitor your baby’s growth and adjust feedings as needed with help from dedicated pediatric dietitians.


• Certified lactation consultants: These specialists help support mothers who are breastfeeding.


• Milk preparation room: Our infant nutrition technicians work in our Milk Lab to receive and store mother’s milk according to CDC standards. We label each bottle of milk received with a barcode to track and ensure accuracy and safety.


• Parent education: We offer a course to help you know what to do when it’s time to take your premature baby home from the hospital. We explain the care we provide in the NICU and how to confidently care for your baby after you leave.


• Pediatric pharmacists: When mothers and babies need prescriptions, our expert pharmacists will fill them.