Starship Newborn Services

Starship Newborn Services is a multidisciplinary team specialising in caring for newborn babies with medical, surgical and complex health needs. The team includes Neonatologists, Paediatric Registrars, Neonatal Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Specialists, and Allied Health Therapists. We work alongside the National Women’s Obstetric and Maternity Services and Starship Paediatric services. We are also part of the Maternal & Fetal Medicine Network.

Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) looks after babies born to parents from Central Auckland, West Auckland and North Auckland. We also provide NICU care for babies from other New Zealand regions when required.

In addition, NICU is the referral centre for babies who need input from paediatric cardiology services, neonatal surgery or treatment for complex metabolic diseases. Here is a "Virtual Tour" of the NICU. (This video may take some time to load)

The unit is located on level nine of Auckland City Hospital - directly across from National Women’s Labour and Delivery Suite. There are 40 cots divided into three areas of care:

• Level three (Intensive Care) For babies who are born at less than 32 weeks gestation or need mechanical ventilation or who require intensive care support.
• Level two (High Dependency)
  For babies who need CPAP therapy, intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Depending on their needs, babies requiring Level two services may be transferred back to North Shore Hospital or Waitakere Hospital SCBU for ongoing care closer to home.
  
• Parent Infant Nursery is an area for low-dependency Level two babies. The focus here is on establishing feeds and preparing the baby and family for discharge.