NICU

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Our highly skilled Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care team attends every high-risk delivery, including all deliveries less than 36 weeks of gestation. Any little ones needing a higher level of care (regardless of gestation) are admitted to our Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Our large care team works together to ensure your newborns on-going needs are met every step of the way. Team experts include Neonatologists, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Level III trained RN’s, and respiratory therapists who are all eager to assist however needed at a moment’s notice. Just as before, we want to make sure you have a voice and your preferences are known.

Features of the Norman Regional NICU include:

Board-certified neonatologist on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on-site daily

• High Risk Neonatal Delivery Team
• Neonatal Transport Team (on a case-by-case basis)
• Personalized Care
  • Parent to Follow Infant to NICU if Possible
  • Would Like a Camera Set-Up if Available to View Infant
  • Parents to be Present for First Bath
  • Mother or Parent to be Present for First Feed
  • Feed Pumped Colostrum When Infant is Able
  • I Prefer My Baby to Latch to My Breast for First Feeding if Able
  • No Pacifiers While My Baby is in the NICU Unless for Comfort
  • Give Pumped Colostrum Instead of Glucose Gel if Possible
  • No Other Visitors to NICU Besides Those with an ID Band
  • Be Provided with a Blanket to Take Scent From Mom to Infant
• Parent communication boards
• Private and semi-private rooms
• Pasteurized Donor Human Milk
• Kangaroo Care/Skin-to-Skin is a technique in which an infant is held skin-to-skin with its parent with a blanket over the baby's back, to keep warm.
• NICVIEW cameras allow families to see their babies from anywhere at any time - read this story to learn more about the cameras and how they benefit families with babies in our NICU.
• Level II transition for babies needing support as they transition during the first few hours of life.

The Atkinson Family

When Tailor Atkinson went into labor two weeks early, her care team at Norman Regional Hospital discovered her baby, Maddox, was in a breech position. Because he was not in the safest head-down position for delivery, Tailor needed an emergency C-section.

After birth, Maddox was taken straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for breathing issues. In the midst of an emotionally and physically challenging delivery, Tailor shared how difficult it was to be separated from her baby - unable to hold him and unsure of what was happening. Soon after Maddox was admitted to the NICU, his care team also learned he had an unexpected diagnosis of Down syndrome, adding another layer to an already overwhelming first day - and underscoring the importance of having specialized, compassionate NICU care right away.

The Burns Family

The Burns family is very familiar with the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Norman Regional Hospital. All three of their babies spent time there.

Compassionate Newborn Care in Norman

Norman Regional is dedicated to helping you grow your family and ensuring every newborn is screened before leaving our care.

Newborn’s first bath: Norman Regional nurses work with parents on using a Dandle-LION bathing system to demonstrate proper and safe handling during bath time. The Dandle-LION bathing system is designed to keep your newborn warm and comfortable during bath time. Reminder to parents, this is a great photo opportunity to capture lifetime memories.

Newborn Hearing Screening – Local group Hearts for Hearing will perform a hearing screening before your newborns leave the hospital. If additional follow-ups are needed, Hearts for Hearing will work to get your newborn scheduled for a follow-up appointment. Click here for more information.

On-site Birth Certificate Clerk

• The birth certificate clerk will visit your family following delivery. Parents can fill out the Child’s Birth Certificate Worksheet ahead of time. [Click here for the form.] Save and email to Norman Regional Medical Records at NRHS_HIM_BirthCertificate_Team@nrh-ok.com
• If you have questions, please call: 405-515-3533. If you’re not able to email, please fax the Child’s Birth Certificate Worksheet to: 405-515-3536

Dedicated Social Work/Case Manager – Phone: 405-515-3912

Norman Regional Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapists develop personalized treatment care plans for all babies under 32 weeks and others as needed.

It's a Boy!

If your baby is a boy, you will need to choose whether a circumcision is desired while in the hospital. Your care team will discuss options prior to discharge.

Discharge from the Hospital

For parents who have already been discharged, rooming-in services allow you to stay in a hospital room the night before your baby goes home. This allows time for the family while in a safe and supportive environment with full access to the care team.

Newborn Testing at 24 Hours of Life

• Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screen (CCHD) Click here for more information
• Newborn Screening Click here for more information

Neonatal Transport Team

Norman Regional NICU team offers a neonatal Level III transport team that includes a highly-trained Registered Transport Nurse and a respiratory therapist that goes to hospitals throughout rural Oklahoma.