Neonatal intensive care unit


An intensive care unit designed for premature and ill newborn babies. Abbreviated NICU. Also called a newborn intensive care unit.

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  • Neonatal jaundice

    Yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn’s eyes (sclerae) by pigment of bile (bilirubin). In newborn babies a degree of jaundice is normal. It is due to the breakdown of red blood cells (which release bilirubin into the blood) and to the immaturity of the newborn’s liver (which cannot effectively metabolize the […]

  • Neonatal mortality rate

    The number of children under 28 days of age who die, divided by the number of live births in that year.

  • Neonatal sepsis

    A bacterial infection of the blood in a neonate, an infant younger than 4 weeks of age. Babies with sepsis may be listless, overly sleepy, floppy, weak, and very pale. Neonatal sepsis is life-threatening.

  • Neonate

    A newborn baby, specifically a baby in the first 4 weeks after birth. After a month, a baby is no longer considered a neonate.

  • Neonatologist

    A physician specializing in the care of newborns.


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