Intensive Care Nursery

Caring for Our Smallest Patients at WakeMed's Raleigh Campus

WakeMed offers extraordinary care for critically ill newborns.  Our Level IV Intensive Care Nursery is the most experienced and technologically advanced in Wake County, serving as a regional referral center.  

- Full-time neonatologists - specialists in the care of critically ill babies
- Full-time perinatologist - specialist in treating high-risk pregnancies
- Nurse practitioners working with neonatologists and pediatricians to provide care
- Highly skilled neonatology staff, including pediatric psychologists, child development specialists, speech-language pathologists, registered nurses and PhD-level physical therapists
- Lactation consultants
- WakeMed Mother's Milk Bank - one of just nine human milk donation programs in the country, the only one in the Southeast
- Special Infant Care Clinic for outpatient follow-up
- Special neonatal team to respond to unexpected complications during delivery
- Dedicated neonatal respiratory therapists

As one of only seven Harvard-certified training sites for developmental specialists in the country, we treat more than 625 premature infants and critically ill babies each year with:

WakeMed Cary Hospital - Home to Our Level III Nursery

In the event you encounter any problems with your baby's birth, or if your baby requires special attention, you can rest assured.  WakeMed Cary Hospital has a Special Care Nursery, which provides Level III care for babies needing short-term intensive care. 

This facility shares a full time staff of highly skilled neonatologists and 24-hour neonatal nurse practitioners with our Raleigh Campus.  When necessary, babies are transferred from Cary Hospital to the Raleigh Campus via our specially equipped Children's Transport Vehicle, staffed by an experienced team of transport professionals.  With their doctor's permission, moms are welcome to transfer and complete their postpartum stay at our Women's Pavilion & Birthplace - Raleigh so they can be near baby.

Wake County SmartStart Partnership

The ICN of WakeMed has a Developmental Team that helps families to be partners with staff in caring for their babies and in understanding the behavior and development of premature babies. 

This special team supports infants and their families who spend time in the Intensive Care Nursery.  For families from Wake County with babies born more that two months early or with other qualifying complications, we offer the HHIP program (Hospital-Home Intervention Program) funded through Wake County SmartStart, an organization that ensures young children are healthy and prepared for school and life. 

HHIP offers a partnership between families and our staff who specialize in premature infant development and other newborn issues during the first few month of an infant's life.