Fetal Heart Patient Care Areas
Your baby may receive care in the following places after birth.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
The needs of every infant are different. Some babies with heart differences may remain in the newborn nursery and have any needed heart tests there. Others needing closer monitoring will be admitted to the NICU. Echocardiograms and other heart tests completed in the NICU help us plan your baby's care.
Visitation in the Children’s Hospital NICU is allowed 24 hours a day. Most babies in the NICU have private rooms, but there are some twin rooms as well. You typically will have an opportunity to room with your baby before leaving the hospital, either on the Pediatric Cardiology Floor or in the NICU rooming-in areas
We work hard to keep new mothers close to their babies in the NICU. Rooms for new moms at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are just across the fourth floor walkway from the Children's Hospital NICU. When you feel well enough for a wheelchair ride, you may visit your baby in the NICU.
Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU)
The PCICU is on the tenth floor of Children's Hospital. Children are cared for in the PCICU after heart surgery. Each child has a private room. Four visitors at a time are allowed in the room during the day, and two adults may stay in the hospital overnight from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Cardiology floor
Newborns and children with congenital heart differences and those with heart disease occurring later in childhood typically stay on the tenth floor of Children's Hospital. Our team includes expertly trained cardiologists, cardiac trained nurses, nurse practitioners and dieticians to provide around-the-clock, family centered care. We prepare you for a successful transition in caring for your child at home.
We encourage parents to stay with their child as much as possible. If you have a room at Ronald McDonald House, we will ask you to check out so you may stay at the hospital. We require parents to room-in with their baby and assume all care for 24 to 48 hours prior to discharge. This will prepare you to leave the hospital confident in the care of your child.