Approximately 15 million babies are born preterm each year, accounting for about one in 10 of all babies born worldwide. Preterm birth is also the leading cause of newborn death in the United States.
November is National Prematurity Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of preterm birth as well as the concerns of premature babies and their families.
Did you know that there are four neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in our Richmond market? St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, Memorial Regional Medical Center and Southside Medical Center all specialize in taking care of preterm babies.
Some of the services we offer at our NICUs include:
- Advanced critical newborn care
- Brain cooling therapy
- Chaplains and spiritual counseling
- High-frequency ventilation
- Lactation consultants
- Nitric oxide therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Pharmacy services
- Physical therapy
- Social services
- Speech pathology
Neonatology focuses on the medical and surgical needs of newborn babies. Our neonatologists are pediatricians who’ve completed advanced training in the care of very sick or premature babies. They often consult on high-risk prenatal care before the baby is born as well as during and after delivery.
Our neonatologists also lead our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams. These teams provide compassionate, state-of-the-art treatment for premature infants, infections, birth injuries and birth defects. Together, with a highly skilled and dedicated team of other physicians, neonatal nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and additional professionals, neonatologists provide the most advanced medical care to babies 24 hours a day.
At Bon Secours, we are dedicated to caring for all premature babies and are honored to help so many families during their prematurity experiences.
Learn more about all the pediatric care services we offer at Bon Secours.
