They are the hospital’s tiniest patients, and many must overcome the odds of prematurity and severe illness to survive. These premature babies, often called “preemies,” are cared for by the physicians and staff in the Special Care Nurseries at Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM).

The state-of-the-art nursery, designated a Level III nursery, provides the widest variety of advanced care available for premature and sick newborns. The neonatologists and nursery staff are all highly skilled in caring for these little babies and their many needs after birth. They also must teach the parents to care for their little ones when they go home.

Baby in the NICU

Some of the infants are there for just a week or two. Others are there for months. And during their stay, special bonds are formed and many precious milestones are shared between the families and their caretakers.

Each December, doctors, nurses and staff in the Special Care Nurseries come together with the “preemie graduates” and their families to celebrate life and renew acquaintances at the hospital’s annual “Preemie Party.” The Special Care Nurseries held its 27th annual Preemie Party with more than 100 families in attendance.

It’s a time for grateful family members to once again thank those who cared for their babies when they were so fragile and sick. And it’s a time for the hospital staff to see how the little ones are growing – many now toddlers, school-aged children, teenagers and some even in their 20s return.

Ann Critz, MD, chief of Pediatrics and medical director of Nurseries at EUHM, says, “This annual party gives us the opportunity to visit with ‘our babies’ and their families again to see the progress they’ve made since leaving the hospital. It’s wonderful to see these children developing and thriving now, when they were once so small and medically fragile. This gathering is a very sentimental time for me each year.”

Critz, who is an associate professor of pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine, has cared for hundreds of preemies during her 29-year tenure at Emory University Hospital Midtown.

Susan Horner, RN, nurse in the Special Care Nurseries and Preemie Party coordinator, says, “It’s a joy to reconnect with the little ones and their family members who spent so many hours in our nurseries nurturing their preemies before taking them home.”

All babies born at the hospital, including preemies, experience a concept called “family-centered care,” which encourages parents to assist in caring for, rocking, holding and feeding their babies daily. Despite all of the tubes and monitors needed for the preemies, this family-centered care is vital.

Critz notes that the technique is extremely important in the neonatal intensive care unit, called the NICU. Bonding with even the smallest infants in the early stages is critical for the baby’s development. She and her colleagues have found the more parents are involved with the care of their preemies, the better the babies thrive.

EUHM has been a leader in neonatal care for as far back as the 1940’s. The hospital’s NICU opened in 1981 and currently serves as part of the Emory Regional Perinatal Center, one of six regional perinatal centers in the state to care for high-risk infants. Learn more about the maternity center at EUHM.