An inside look at Texas Children's Hospital's neonatal response team

Unlike many hospitals, which only have a neonatologist on call, Texas Children's Hospital has a neonatal response team available 24/7 to step in and handle emergencies during deliveries.

The team is available to respond to all deliveries before 36 weeks and for babies born with birth defects to stabilize the child and evaluate it for further care. This may involve administering oxygen, IVs and medications, as well as assigning Apgar scores after delivery, Barbara Levy, R.N., who works for the neonatal response team at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, writes in a blog post.

The team includes neonatologists, specially trained neonatal intensive care unit R.N.s and respiratory therapists. The team members cross traditional role designations to stabilize the baby quickly and provide anything he or she needs.

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Many of these babies are then transported to the NICU or cardiovascular intensive care unit.

In twice-a-day meetings, the leadership team discusses pending deliveries, and a labor and delivery “grease board” keeps an updated status of those in labor. It also shows gestational age, so it’s clear which babies are premature or have other issues that will require speedy transfer to NICU, Levy writes.

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The neonatal response team also attends births that involve an emergency prior to delivery. These births often proceed without problems, but they stand by, just in case, she said.

If a baby has to be transferred to intensive care, the team lets both parents hold the newborn first and take photos. The team also provides a “first moments” card, which has information such as the baby’s birth details, name and first footprints, so the mother has something she can hold while the child receives care.