The NICU is the place for "special care for special little ones.” If your baby is born prematurely or with special needs, the physicians and staff of the NICU are fully equipped with the most advanced technology and training to give your baby the specialized care he/she needs. The NICU is located on level 4 of the new Women & Infants' Center.

This unit includes comfortable patient rooms and features:

• Centralized nursing stations, so your nurse is always visible and available
  
• Sofa bed for parents to stay at bedside
  
• State-of-the-art beds for baby
  
• Refrigerators
• Wireless Internet
  
• Large windows with a view of downtown Des Moines

A team of professionals will be caring for your family the moment your baby arrives. Once your baby is settled in the NICU, the doctors and nurses will give you information and answer any questions you may have. Mothers will be reunited with their baby as soon as they are physically able to come into the NICU. You are encouraged to be near baby’s bedside as much as possible.

The entire NICU staff, from the nurses to the neonatologists, practice a developmentally supportive care program, called Wee Care. This program is utilized to develop an individualized care program to best support the total physical and emotional development of your special little one. The staff will continuously monitor the individual needs of the infant, and practice care methods that reduce the level of stress on the baby.