On Sunday, Sept. 15, Women & Infants Hospital hosted our annual NICU Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic Reunion to celebrate children who were born in 2020 and cared for in the NICU and followed in the Follow-Up Clinic. The party included a magician, characters, activity tables, and of course, birthday cake!

“I’m delighted that we can celebrate our 2020 babies as they turn 4 this year,” said Elisabeth McGowan, MD, director of the hospital’s NICU Neonatal Follow-Up Program. “COVID was a tremendously stressful period on many different levels, and our families and babies have shown so much resilience.  To be able to come together and acknowledge all the hard work of families and the milestone achievements of some of our smallest patients at the hospital is what makes this Follow-Up Program so special.”

The Women & Infants Follow-Up Clinic provides comprehensive, family-centered developmental, behavioral, medical, nutritional and social support to high-risk infants born at WIH and cared for in the NICU, particularly infants born less than 34 weeks gestational age.  The clinic consists of neonatologists, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, psychologists and social workers who provide clinic visits four days a week in addition to home visits for some patients.  We provide care that begins in the NICU and supports the critical transition to the home period. Our services continue to support families up to age 5.

The program at Women & Infants Hospital was established in 1974 and is one of the first of its kind in the country. Its mission is to provide clinical support to high-risk NICU infants and their families, to engage in high-quality research that focuses on improving their neurodevelopmental outcomes, and to educate trainees on the importance of early developmental support.