Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and Integrated Neonatal Intensive Care (INIC)
At MercyOne, we're by your side every step of the way—through pregnancy, labor, delivery and all the moments that follow. If your baby requires specialized care, our Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) are equipped with advanced technology and highly trained staff who provide expert care.
Our NICUs are staffed by in-house neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners. Each unit has highly trained nurses who are available to you and your family 24/7 to assist in feeding, basic care and to answer any questions. In some locations, a team of specially trained and certified volunteers are available to offer your baby the comfort of human touch, should you need time away from your baby.
Services and Specialties
- High Risk Infant Follow-Up Care
- In-house neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners
- Integrated neonatal intensive care
- Maternal Fetal Medicine care
- Maternal Transport Team
- Neonatal intensive care
- Neonatal Transport Team
- Neonatology
- Pediatric specialties
Conditions cared for include:
- Feeding issues
- Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
- Jaundice
- Neonatal abstinence syndrome (neonatal drug withdrawal)
- Neonatal pneumonia
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN)
- Prematurity
- Respiratory distress of the newborn
- Sepsis
Our patient rooms are designed for comfort and care, including:
- Adjustable lighting, allowing you to dim the lights for a more soothing space for you and your baby
- Advanced infant beds to support your baby’s health and safety with the latest technology
- Centralized nursing stations to ensure your baby’s nurse is always visible and available
- Free wireless internet access to keep you connected during your stay
- Large windows bring in natural light to create a calming environment
- Private rooms featuring soundproof doors with blinds, offering quiet and peace
- Refrigerators for personal use
- Sofa bed and recliners for parents to stay at bedside comfortably
Integrated Neonatal Intensive Care (INIC)
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center's unique and top-rated Integrated Neonatal Intensive Care (INIC) model is different than a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), in that your baby will be cared for by a team of neonatologists, nurses and specialists in your room instead of a separate area of the hospital. Rather than separating mom and baby in a more traditional NICU setting, the INIC model is family-centered, so that baby is with mom the entire time.
The 19 labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum birthing suites at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center are equipped with the technology and support necessary should your baby need intensive care.
Benefits to this family-centered approach include more skin-to-skin time for mom and baby and increased breastfeeding success rates. The first few minutes, hours and days are essential for bonding with a new baby, and the INIC model allows for that even when a baby needs advanced care.
Maternal Transport Team
MercyOne Air Med offers a Maternal Transport Team, providing specialized emergency care 24/7 throughout Iowa for mothers who are experiencing difficult labor conditions. This Air Med service – which pairs specifically trained Neonatal Intensive Care and Maternal teams with our Flight Team and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) – provides much-needed care, especially in rural areas with fewer obstetricians or, where obstetrics is unavailable.
The helicopter comes equipped with an external fetal heart monitor, so the team can keep an eye on the mom’s contractions and the baby’s heart rate during the flight. While in the air, the transport team has real-time communication with a MercyOne OB physician to help guide the care plan. The Maternal and NICU teams work side by side to provide the highest level of safety for both mom and baby throughout the trip. And unlike other air services in Iowa, this team gets dispatched locally, which helps things move quickly and smoothly.
- Specialty credentialed for obstetrics
- External fetal heart monitor
Neonatal Transport Team
Should a higher level of care be needed for your newborn, MercyOne Air Med is skilled in the safe transport of infants. The highly trained neonatal transport team consists of staff specialty credentialed for NICU patients. The helicopter is equipped with an advanced Isolette with Hamilton T1 Ventilator, meaning your baby will have the most advanced respiratory technology during the flight.
Locations
Specialty Clinic
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center NICU
1000 4th Street SW
Mason City, IA 50401
Phone: 641-428-7000
Birth Center
MercyOne Waterloo Birth Center
3421 West 9th Street
Waterloo, IA 50702
Phone: 319-272-8450
