The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) provides high-quality, family-centred and life-saving care to infants born at 30 weeks gestation or greater. Patients in our NICU were born at MGH or transferred from another hospital.
Our interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals includes neonatologists (doctors who specialize in caring for newborn babies, especially those who are sick or born prematurely), nurses, respiratory therapists, dietitians, lactation consultants, pharmacists, social workers and more.
Many of these individuals have specialized training and knowledge, allowing our team to provide the best, most appropriate care for premature babies and infants. In particular, our neonatologists have expertise in point-of-care echocardiography, peripherally inserted central catheter lines (PICC), paediatric and neonatal critical care transport, and family-integrated care.
Our NICU also uses advanced and specialized medical equipment and technologies. This allows our patients to receive a fuller spectrum of critical care in one place that is close to home.
We partner with other hospitals, including The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), to coordinate additional care and consultations where needed. We also collaborate with MGH’s Family Birthing Centre (FBC) to support high-risk deliveries and respond to neonatal emergencies like resuscitation. Occasionally, families who have given birth to multiples (e.g. twins, triplets) may have babies admitted in different hospitals at the same time if the babies require different levels of intensive care.
MGH’s NICU is an Advanced Level 2 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as defined by Critical Care Services Ontario. The unit was formerly known as the Special Care Nursery (SCN).
