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In most cases, you can be with your baby in the NICU at any time. Read on to learn what you can expect.

Babies in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) undergo regular testing so they get the important care they need. Here are several common lab tests. Ask your baby's healthcare provider about them.

Premature and low-birth-weight babies may be too immature to regulate their own temperature, even in a warm environment. Read on to learn how to safely keep them warm.

Large for gestational age is used to describe newborn babies who weigh more than the usual amount for the number of weeks of pregnancy. Babies are called large for gestational age if they weigh more than 9 in 10 babies of the same gestational age.

Meconium aspiration happens when a newborn breathes in a mixture of meconium and amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid is the liquid that surrounds the baby in the womb. Meconium is the baby's first stool, or poop, which is sticky, thick, and dark green. It is typically passed in the womb during early pregnancy and again in the first few days after birth.

Each newborn baby is carefully checked at birth for signs of problems or complications.

Premature babies especially need a supportive environment to help them continue to mature and develop as they would in their mother's womb.

Because most babies in the NICU are too small or sick to take milk feedings, medicines and fluids are often given through their veins or arteries.

Detailed information on mouth infections, including the oral herpes simplex virus infection.