Neonatal Clinical Care

At UCLA Health, our neonatology experts deliver outstanding, compassionate care at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.

We specialize in helping premature and full-term babies with the full spectrum of health conditions, including heart and lung problems, congenital anomalies and gastrointestinal (GI) issues. Our team offers a range of services to meet your child’s needs from birth through 3 years old. 

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The NICU at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital is one of the leading Level IV neonatal care centers in Southern California. Your baby receives the highest level of care from an experienced team that includes:

• Neonatologists
• Neonatal nurses
• Breathing (respiratory) therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Physical therapists
• Lactation consultants
• Social workers
• Nurse practioners
• Dieticians
• Pharmacists
• Case managers
• Medical translators

Our integrated NICU team works together to provide care and support for critically ill newborns. We also coordinate care with other specialists, such as cardiologists, pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, endocrinologists, genetic experts and more. You can trust us to deliver leading-edge treatments for your baby while offering guidance and encouragement to you and your family. We’re by your side every step of the way.

Small babies

We provide expert care for small babies (extremely premature babies). Babies born before 29 weeks require delicate care to keep them warm and safe while allowing them to bond with family. Our experts focus on the lungs, heart, brain and nervous system as your baby continues to grow and develop. 

Comprehensive Support for Premature Babies

To help premature babies thrive, UCLA Health offers a unique program called Neurodevelopment and Early Movements Observation (NEMO). The NEMO team includes experts from neonatology and developmental and behavioral pediatrics. We meet with your family to bridge the transition from the NICU to outpatient care. Our team will:

• Evaluate your baby's neurological development
• Discuss the results and need for neurodevelopmental follow-up care
• Schedule your baby's first appointment with our High Risk Infant Follow-Up Program
• Connect you with early intervention services through the state of California

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital High Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Program

Babies who spend time in the NICU have a higher risk of medical and developmental problems as they grow up. Our HRIF team provides comprehensive medical treatments, follow-up care and early intervention services to NICU graduates. We can follow participating babies and children from the time they leave the hospital until they are 3 years old.

Our experts evaluate each baby’s health in several areas, paying close attention to developmental, nutritional, psychological and medical health. By following your baby as they grow, we can spot any issues early and connect you with services to help your child thrive.

Advanced Care for Congenital Heart Disease

Our neonatologists partner with the UCLA Health Fetal Cardiology Program to treat babies with all types of congenital heart disease. Your baby’s treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Some babies need to be monitored as they grow and may not need treatment right away. Other babies need medications or surgery as soon as they're born.

Care planning during pregnancy

Tests during pregnancy can detect certain heart problems in your growing baby. If your baby receives a diagnosis while you’re pregnant, our team can start planning before birth. Your care team includes every specialist your baby will need. Specialists may include neonatologists, cardiologists, pediatric surgeons, genetic experts and maternal-fetal medicine specialists.

Tests after your baby is born

Babies diagnosed with a heart defect after birth may undergo tests, such as: 

• Heart ultrasound (echocardiogram)
• Cardiac MRI
• Cardiac catheterization

These imaging studies allow us to see detailed images of the heart and blood vessels so we can plan treatments and guide surgical procedures.

Neonatal Surgery

Our team at the UCLA Health Fetal Care Center treats newborns with gastrointestinal (digestive) and thoracic (chest) congenital anomalies, including those who need surgery.

Our pediatric surgeons have extensive experience performing surgery on newborns and infants. This high level of expertise is available at only a handful of medical centers in the world. Pediatric surgeons work alongside experts from maternal-fetal medicine, pediatrics and neonatology to provide seamless care for moms and babies before, during and after delivery. 

During pregnancy, we offer parents prenatal consultations, compassionate support and important information about their baby’s treatment plan. On delivery day, babies transition directly to neonatal care (and receive neonatal surgery, if necessary) without needing to be transferred to a different hospital. This approach enables our surgeons to deliver treatments as soon as possible and allows parents and babies to stay close during treatment.

Neonatal Nutrition 

At UCLA Health, registered neonatal dietitians work with you to help your baby thrive and grow. 

Our neonatal nutrition team also includes:

• Lactation (breastfeeding) consultants
• Dietitians and nutritionists
• Pharmacists

Your baby’s nutrition plan is based on scientific recommendations developed by our NICU team. We tailor our approach to ensure your baby receives the right amount of protein and other nutrients. We also use a real-time system to track their daily and weekly growth. 

Whenever possible, we recommend feeding infants human milk because it has been proven to reduce infections and support brain development in preterm babies. If the mother's milk is not available, our NICU provides donor milk to the most vulnerable infants.

Our NICUs include a “milk room” where we prepare customized recipes for each infant. Feeding specialists add precise amounts of proteins and minerals to human milk based on each baby’s specific needs.

The team also specializes in helping babies who need total parenteral nutrition, which is liquid nutrition provided through a vein (intravenously).