Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

When a baby arrives early or needs extra help after birth, our neonatal intensive care units care for them around the clock. Neonatologists and specially trained neonatal nurses look after your baby, and you're welcomed in as part of the team from the very first day.

What is a neonatal intensive care unit?

A neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, cares for newborn babies who are born too early or become unwell soon after birth. It brings together close monitoring, breathing and feeding support, and a team led by neonatologists, who are paediatricians with extra training in newborn care. Some babies need only a short stay; others stay for weeks, moving to gentler care as they grow stronger before going home. Care is built around the whole family.

Which babies are cared for in the NICU?

Babies may be cared for in the NICU if they are:

• Born prematurely, before 37 weeks
• Small or low in birth weight
• Having trouble breathing
• Fighting an infection
• Affected by jaundice that needs treatment
• Recovering from a difficult birth or surgery

Some babies are admitted straight from the delivery room; others are moved to the NICU in their first days if a problem develops. Twins and other multiples, and babies whose mothers had diabetes or high blood pressure in pregnancy, are more likely to need extra care. Your baby's doctor decides what support is needed and explains each step to you.

What to expect

When your baby is admitted, the team settles them into an incubator or open cot that keeps them warm, and attaches soft sensors that track heart rate, breathing and oxygen levels. A nurse is close by at all times. In the first hours the team may take blood tests, an X-ray or a cranial ultrasound (a scan of the head) to understand what your baby needs.

From there, care is shaped around what your baby needs, whether that's help with breathing, support with feeding, or treatment for jaundice or an infection. You're encouraged to take part, holding your baby skin to skin and sharing in everyday care. As your baby grows stronger, they move to gentler levels of support, and the team helps you get ready to take your baby home.

Neonatal intensive care at Mediclinic

We provide Level 3 neonatal intensive care for very small or critically ill newborns at our hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Our units are staffed around the clock by neonatologists and neonatal nurses, and a neonatologist can attend higher-risk deliveries to provide specialist care from the moment your baby is born. As a level 3 unit, the team can give specialised breathing support and care for serious newborn conditions, working alongside paediatric surgeons and other specialists when a baby needs them.

We build care around the whole family. You're kept informed and included in decisions about your baby, and we encourage skin-to-skin (kangaroo) care and breastfeeding. Every baby has continuous monitoring, breathing and feeding support, and newborn screening. A developmental care programme supports premature babies as they grow.