NICU

Baptist Health offers our tiniest patients lifesaving treatments. In our neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), we help your baby become healthier while supporting your family. The NICUs at both Baptist Medical Center South and Baptist Medical Center East are Level III regional neonatal intensive care units, as designated by the American Academy of Pediatrics. These teams of specialists provide the highest level of care in the region.

The NICU at Baptist Medical Center South also cares for infants born at other hospitals who need a higher level of care. So, whether you delivered your baby with us or not, you’ll have access to the highest level of NICU resources in the state of Alabama.

nurse using a stethoscope to listen to the heart of a premature baby in a nicu cradle

Highly Skilled, Compassionate
Care Team

  • Neonatologists (pediatricians with specialized training in newborn care)
  • Pediatric ophthalmologists
  • Pediatric cardiologists
  • Neonatal nurse practitioners
  • Registered nurses
  • Respiratory therapists
  • Technicians
two bears, one in the back that is pink with white polka dots and the other in the front is blue with white clouds and a red heart on the chest

Angel One Transport

Premature and critically sick babies from about 20 nearby area hospitals may be transferred to the NICU at Baptist Medical Center South via Angel One, a specially equipped ambulance designed for critically sick babies.

Rolling NICU

Central Alabama’s only Rolling NICU, our Angel One Transport Team provides the same technology, expertise and compassionate care that patients receive inside the walls of Baptist Medical Center South right to your front door!

Advanced Technologies

  • High-Frequency Ventilation
  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Phototherapy
  • Total Body Cooling

Treating Critical Conditions

  • Extreme Prematurity
  • HIE
  • PPHN
  • Sepsis
  • Severe RDS
  • Pneumothorax

Always Available

Our Transport Team is available 24/7 to depart within 30 minutes of receiving a call, and they are able to treat the most critical conditions, with the high level of responsiveness that parents require when it comes to their newborns.

Take a Video Tour of our labor and delivery experience

Visit our Video Library for informative content on a number of topics of interest to you.

mother holding newborn baby skin-to-skin in the hospital

Partnership with Parents

Even the best technology cannot replace the tender care of parents for their new baby. At Baptist Health we work in partnership with parents to develop care plans for their new baby and uphold a compassion-focused mindset. As babies gain strength, parents’ roles expand. Parents may sit by their babies and touch them at first, but later can hold them skin-on-skin; give them a bottle or breastfeed; change diapers and bathe babies, depending on the infant’s progress.

We are open 21 hours a day for you to visit your baby, closed only during shift changes. Grandparents and other guests approved by parents may also visit babies in the NICU. Siblings may visit babies in the NICU after they are screened for illnesses. (During flu season, no children are allowed to visit.)

Preparing for Home

When the momentous day for a baby to go home arrives, our trained staff will prepare new parents with all the information they need, including infant CPR education, car seat assistance, and contact information for all the new parent services we provide. In addition, parents may spend the night with their baby in a room off the NICU to feel more prepared for discharge. Nearby nurses are available to answer questions, so parents feel comfortable taking care of their babies on their own once they arrive home.

backseat of a car with mother, newborn baby in a car seat, and father strapping the car seat in

Call 334-747-4450 to learn more about why it’s a joy to deliver at Baptist!

pink checkered teddy bear with a red heart on it's chest