Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

UT Southwestern Medical Center is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading centers for neonatal-perinatal care, teaching, and research. We dedicate ourselves to providing exceptional care for the youngest and most critically ill patients.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital 2023-2024 list ranks our Neonatal program No. 36 in the nation.

UT Southwestern has provided care both for healthy and ill newborns for more than 40 years, and we opened the first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in North Texas.

Our faculty members oversee care for newborns at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. We deliver more than 20,000 babies each year at these hospitals.

We are committed to training outstanding physicians and scientists. Further, through the continued discovery of new knowledge, we strive to improve outcomes for our young and vulnerable patients. 

Caring for High-Risk Babies

Babies considered high-risk have a greater chance of complications due to conditions that occur during fetal development, pregnancy conditions of the mother, or problems that might occur during labor and birth. Some complications are unexpected and can occur without warning. Other times, there are certain risk factors that make problems more likely.

Fortunately, advances in technology have helped improve the care of sick newborns. Under the care of UT Southwestern’s specialized physicians and other health care providers, at-risk babies today have much greater chances for surviving and getting better than ever before.

Care at Parkland Memorial Hospital

UT Southwestern’s neonatologists provide care for both healthy and sick babies at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Our 96-bed Level III NICU averages about 1,400 admissions a year. Our team of physicians, nurses, and support staff is highly experienced in caring for a wide array of neonatal disorders. This teamwork has resulted in one of the lowest mortality rates in the country.
• Newborn Nursery: With more than 12,000 deliveries a year, the newborn nursery at Parkland is one of the busiest in the country. Under the supervision of UT Southwestern faculty, pediatric residents and pediatric nurse practitioners provide comprehensive care for both term and near-term infants from birth through discharge.
• Labor and Delivery: We provide a unique and highly trained neonatal resuscitation team that attends more than 300 high-risk deliveries each month. We have the capability to deliver cutting-edge delivery room care in even the most complex cases, including EXIT (Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment) procedures. 

Care at Children’s Medical Center Dallas

Babies with special metabolic, cardiac, or surgical conditions can be transferred from other hospitals to the Children's Medical Center NICU, a Level IV NICU that is also supervised by UT Southwestern faculty. This state-of-the-art, 47-bed facility is the premier referral unit in North Texas. Our physicians work with well-trained and experienced nurses, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals to provide the best care, with the patient's well-being as their first priority.

A wide range of additional neonatal intensive care services are available that span the spectrum of patients from fetus to age 5, including:

• Fetal Evaluation and Treatment Alliance (FETAL): FETAL is the only program in North Texas offering specialized care for pregnant women diagnosed with a fetal anomaly. Patients, families, and their referring providers participate in prenatal conferences with a highly specialized multidisciplinary team that brings the expertise of UT Southwestern’s subspecialists to the baby at risk. A personalized approach addresses each in utero diagnosis to determine the best strategy for pregnancy, delivery, and continuity of care after birth.
• TeleNICU: The state’s first dedicated neonatal telemedicine service and one of the most sophisticated systems of its kind in the nation, TeleNICU links specially trained, board-certified UT Southwestern neonatologists at Children’s Medical Center to physicians at other hospitals’ NICUs to consult and assist in the management of the sickest and most fragile infants.
• Low Birth Weight Clinic (Thrive Program): Thrive provides comprehensive medical and psychosocial follow-up treatment for NICU graduates through intensive intervention, education, social services, and developmental testing for high-risk infants from birth to age 5.

We also offer:

• Multidisciplinary disease-specific teams, including the Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Team, the Intestinal Failure Team, and the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Team
• Support services provided through a family support team, including a psychologist, social worker, case manager, child life specialist, and chaplain
• State-of-the-art ventilatory support, including high-frequency ventilation
• High-level subspecialty consultation
• Advanced radiology and other technology with neonatal expertise
• Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
• Cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesia program
• Fetal and postnatal echocardiography
• Lactation specialists
• On-site neonatal pharmacy services
• Pediatric ostomy specialists
• Video EEG for evaluation of seizures

Care at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital

At William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, we provide the highest level of neonatal care in a warm and inviting environment that helps parents to connect with their baby.

• Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Clements University Hospital features 30 NICU rooms, giving each baby his or her own room, in a space sized to easily accommodate both hospital staff and parents. State-of-the-art neonatal care including mechanical ventilation (both conventional and high frequency), inhaled nitric oxide therapy, and outstanding nursing care are provided to fragile infants. Parents can sleep in the room overnight with their newborns – enabling parents to focus on their infant and build bonds that will help the baby grow stronger. Research shows that more parental involvement helps babies with weight gain, breastfeeding, and earlier release from the hospital. 
• Newborn Nursery: Our labor, delivery, and recovery rooms combine modern technology with a warm, homelike environment to provide a safe and comfortable experience for mothers and families. Our highly experienced newborn physicians provide expert care for the newborn infant. We also have lactation consultants to provide breastfeeding assistance.

Care at Southwestern Health Resources – Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas

Our team assumed care of newborn infants in the NICU and Special Care Nursery at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (THD) in 2015, marking the beginning of Southwestern Health Resources, a close affiliation between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources.

• Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Located on the third floor of the Margot Perot Center at Texas Health Dallas, a 47-bed Level III NICU provides 24-hour comprehensive care to premature, high-risk, and ill infants. The program offers therapies, equipment, and an experienced multidisciplinary specialist team that includes UT Southwestern neonatologists, medical subspecialists, and surgeons, as well as neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and occupational therapists.
• Special Care Nursery:The Special Care Nursery provides specialized services and medical monitoring for infants who have graduated from the NICU but still require additional care. The nursery is staffed by board-certified UT Southwestern neonatologists who provide around-the-clock expert care for premature and special-needs infants. This 44-bed nursery is the only Level II nursery in the Dallas area that offers private rooms. Parents are able to room with their infants in a hotel-like environment that includes a refrigerator, granite countertops, a flat-screen TV, and a private bath, encouraging parents to spend as much time with their babies as possible.
• Thrive at THD: As an extension of the Thrive Program at Children’s, Thrive at THD includes skilled developmental specialists and pediatricians who provide comprehensive developmental testing for high-risk infants who have graduated from THD and surrounding NICUs.
• FETAL at THD: The Fetal Evaluation and Treatment Alliance (FETAL) now provides fetal consultations at Children’s Health Specialty Center Park Cities, located in the Margot Perot Center for Women & Infants at THD. Staffed by UT Southwestern neonatologists, pediatric subspecialists, and surgical specialists, this program extends the continuum of specialized care for pregnant women diagnosed with a fetal anomaly.

Clinical Trials 

Our physicians and scientists are actively engaged in research and innovation. Current research consists of clinical trials, translational studies, and basic science discovery that focus on a number of critical areas in pediatric health, expanding treatment options, and redefining what is possible in pediatric medicine. Find out more about our current research activities.