Neonatology (NICU)

Comprehensive Care for Our Smallest Patients

Over the course of your pregnancy, we work hand-in-hand with the Maternity & Newborn Health Department to identify health concerns and develop a holistic plan for your baby’s care prior to labor and delivery. Our specialists will consult with you to ensure that you are prepared and informed about every decision you make for your baby’s health.

Having a baby is an important life event. Urgent medical needs create additional challenges for your family, but our neonatology team can help you navigate the emotional, logistical and financial challenges of having a baby in the NICU. While your baby receives the most advanced clinical treatment options, our comprehensive care team will work alongside our expert physicians to help your family get the support you need. Our care team includes:

• Family support specialists
• Care managers
• Social workers
• Child Life specialists
• Financial counselors

Our goal is to provide you and your family with every available resource so that you can focus on the most important thing: loving your child.

Our Commitment to Clinical Excellence

In addition to comprehensive family support, Riley at IU Health offers the most advanced neonatology services in Indiana. Our 60-bed NICU is one of Indiana’s only comprehensive Level IV NICU nurseries, providing the highest level of care available for all neonatal patients needing specialized treatment options.

With our High-Risk Infant Follow-Up Care Program, specialized care for your baby continues after he or she leaves the NICU. We continue to collaborate with developmental pediatricians and specialists in other departments to monitor your baby’s condition and ensure that each infant continues to make strides following treatment in the NICU at Riley at IU Health.

Our doctors and researchers have helped develop several lifesaving treatments for newborns. Riley at IU Health was the first hospital in Indiana to evaluate the use of surfactant therapy, which is now used routinely to treat breathing problems in premature babies. Our doctors also helped test and win federal approval for a technology called high frequency jet ventilation, which helps babies breathe without stressing the lungs. In addition to introducing new medical services to our own patients, we also share our findings with other NICUs capable of providing the services.

We are leading the way with a focused neurocritical care initiative aimed at safeguarding infant brain health. A partnership between the Neonatology Department and the Neurology Department ensures the presence of neurologists in our NICU. Our comprehensive team of board certified neonatologists, neonatal neurologists, neuroradiologists and neurodiagnostic specialists and staff is dedicated to providing the highest level of care for infants born with neurological conditions such as:

• Neonatal encephalopathy
• Seizures
• Stroke
• Brain malformations
• Spine malformations
• Neuromuscular disorders
• Severe cardiac disorders
• Other related conditions

Our team coordinates with other departments throughout the hospital to ensure that newborns and their families receive specialized care and support for the unique challenges associated with congenital neurological conditions.

Indiana's Only Nationally Ranked Program

The Riley Children's Health neonatology program is nationally ranked in the top 15 by U.S. News & World Report. We provide care to the most critical babies in Indiana at our Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)—the highest designation level for NICUs—at our main campus in downtown Indianapolis.