Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Caring for our tiniest patients

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

Our large care team works together to ensure your newborn's on-going needs are met every step of the way. Team experts include neonatologists, advanced practitioners, level III trained nurses, and respiratory therapists who are all eager to assist however needed at a moment’s notice.

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)
• Private and semi-private rooms
• Pasteurized donor human milk available
• Kangaroo Care/Skin-to-Skin
  • 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 that 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.
• Personalized care preferences related to the TeamBirth process:
  • Parent communication boards
  • Parent to follow infant to NICU if possible
  • Parents to be present for first bath
  • Mother or parent to be present for first feed
  • First feeding latch if baby is able and is preferred
  • No pacifiers while 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

Patient Stories

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 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.

Hear Tailor and Maddox's story

The Burns Family

The Burns family is all too familiar with the NICU at Norman Regional Hospital. When their first baby was delivered, she had to stay in the NICU until she was strong enough to go home. They were terrified and didn't know what to expect as first-time parents. By the end of her stay in the NICU, parents Luke and Samantha Burns knew everyone by name and became friendly with all the nurses on the unit.

When it was time for baby Burns number two to be born, he was about a month early. Because of his early arrival, he also had to stay in the NICU before being discharged. By this point, Luke and Samantha had full faith in the process and the team in the NICU at Norman Regional. They knew he would be in good hands, so it was a no-brainer for them after their first experience. Everything turned out fine for baby number two, and they got to go home with another happy and healthy baby.

Samantha was pregnant with baby Burns number three when she experienced a placental abruption. The baby came at 33 weeks, and for the third time, the Burnses had a baby needing to stay in the Norman Regional NICU. Based on their babies' three separate experiences in the Norman Regional NICU, the Burns family is very grateful for the expert care their family received.

Hear the Burns Family's Story

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. We offer the following care after birth.

• 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
  • Clinicians from Oklahoma organization 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 newborn hearing screenings from the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
• 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 the filled out form and email it 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 the worksheet, 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.
• Circumcision
  • If your baby is a boy, you will need to choose if 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.

For more information on how to care for yourself post-birth after discharge, visit our Discharge Information page.

Newborn Testing at 24 Hours of Life

Newborn testing at 24 hours of life includes testing for Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) and a metabolic screen, which tests your baby's blood for over fifty hidden disorders.

Click here for more information from the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Neonatal Transport Team

The Norman Regional NICU team offers a Level III transport team that includes a highly-trained registered transport nurse and a respiratory therapist that goes to hospitals throughout rural Oklahoma.