Neonatology

The care and expertise of our neonatology specialists working with premature infants have resulted in care and healthy outcomes for babies born four months early and as small as 12 ounces.

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Resource handbook for NICU families

Premature and High Risk Babies

Neonatology refers to the care of preemies or babies who are very sick due to low birth weight, birth defects, heart trouble, lung problems, or other life-threatening conditions. University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital is home to a Level 4 NICU—the highest level recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This means that our NICU is equipped to care for the tiniest and most critically ill babies, offering the greatest range of neonatal services and support. In fact, we care for more complex conditions than any other NICU in Iowa.

Our Services

Neonatal Hemodynamics

UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is one of the first U.S. hospitals to use an advanced technique called neonatal hemodynamics to monitor the cardiovascular health of preterm babies.

Neonatal Transport

The University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital transport team specializes in the stabilization and safe transfer of the most critically ill neonates in the state. We provide the highest level of neonatal transport care available.

Our survival rates for babies born at 22, 23, 24, and 25 weeks are significantly higher than survival rates for extremely premature babies born at other U.S. hospitals, placing UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital among the top neonatal intensive care providers anywhere.

One reason so many premature and ill babies survive and thrive at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is the culture of collaboration. Specially-trained doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, social workers, pharmacists, lab technicians, physical therapists, and more—all with expertise in neonatology—work together to provide the most advanced care for every family.

Neonatologists at Iowa are advancing care for premature babies through neonatal hemodynamics—one of only a handful of hospitals in the nation—that uses ultrasound technology to better understand the relationship between the heart and the brain in premature infants.

Few parents consider the possibility that their baby might need special medical care after birth. Even fewer think about which neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) might care for their baby. One out of nine mothers do not carry to full term (37 or more weeks), and roughly 100,000 babies end up in a NICU each year. We hope that your pregnancy and delivery go smoothly, but if the unexpected should occur, here are 15 important questions you need to ask.

Tiniest Baby Registry

Neonatologists at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital have developed a worldwide web-based registry to collect data on the smallest surviving babies. Our goal is to provide this data to physicians and parents so the best medical decisions can be made when tiny babies are born.

Physicians and parents can submit or view data.

A neonatologist's destiny

“Whenever anyone asks me why I’m a neonatologist, I tell them this story.”

“My name, Destany, really suits where I came from. It was my destiny to survive," Destany Schafer, Quincy, Illinois. “And it was my destiny to be a neonatologist," John Dagle, MD, PhD.