Who You'll Meet During Your SDU Stay
Because your baby’s delivery requires a high level of care, the teams in the Special Delivery Unit (SDU), Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit (N/IICU), and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) include many different members, all specially trained. The people caring for you and your baby will introduce themselves to you and answer any questions you have about their roles. Here are some of the professionals you may meet during your time at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Attending Physician
A senior staff member who is in charge of the care of you or your baby. This doctor supervises and provides medical treatment and, along with other team members, plans daily care. In the hospital, an attending physician may be a(n):
- Anesthesiologist – A physician board-certified in adult and pediatric anesthesiology who specializes in providing sedation and pain management for mothers, fetuses and newborns.
- OB generalist – A physician board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology who is trained in all aspects of obstetrical care and who specializes in hospital labor and delivery.
- Perinatologist – A physician who is board-certified in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine who is specially trained in fetal imaging and fetal surgery.
- Maternal-fetal medicine specialist (MFM) – A physician board-certified in obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine who has advanced specialized training in identifying and caring for high-risk pregnancies from a maternal-fetal perspective and performing in utero procedures.
- Neonatologist – A physician board-certified in pediatrics, neonatal and perinatal medicine, with specialization in neonatal critical care.
- Pediatric cardiologist – A physician board-certified in pediatrics and cardiology, with special training in fetal cardiology, who specializes in the care of children with heart problems.
- Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon – A board-certified cardiac surgeon who has advanced training in operative procedures on children.
- Fetal surgeon – A surgeon board-certified in both general and pediatric surgery who has additional training in counseling for complex fetal anomalies and performing fetal and neonatal surgery.
- Radiologist – A physician board-certified in adult and pediatric radiology who specializes in the discipline of imaging (ultrasound and MRI) and who also has further specialized training in fetal imaging.
- Reproductive geneticist – An obstetrician with advanced training and board certification in reproductive genetics.
Fellow
A physician with advanced training in a particular specialty, such as neonatology, cardiology or pediatric surgery.
Consulting Physician
An attending physician who has a particular area of expertise and may help other attending physicians diagnose and treat your baby.
Obstetric Nurse
A registered nurse with specialty certification and/or specialty training in obstetrics and special operating room training. This is the nurse who will be assigned to care for you or your baby at all times. The SDU and both intensive care units are staffed to ensure continuity of care from the same nurse or nurses. You will get to know your nurses well! CHOP’s nursing team has been awarded Magnet Status for Nursing Excellence — the nursing profession’s highest national recognition — by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), an arm of the American Nurses Association. Children’s Hospital was the first pediatric hospital in Pennsylvania to earn Magnet status, a designation only 6% of hospitals nationwide have achieved.
Advanced Practice Nurse or Nurse Practitioner
A registered nurse who holds an advanced practice degree in perinatal nursing and has specialty training in fetal surgery and the medical and surgical care of newborns.
Certified Nurse Midwife
A registered nurse who holds an advanced practice degree and certification in midwifery and has specialty training in fetal surgery.
Nurse Manager
A master’s prepared nurse who provides general leadership for the SDU or one of the intensive care units. This professional is a good resource for discussing your baby’s needs and nursing care, as well as hospital services.
Charge Nurse
A nurse who coordinates staffing in a unit, arranges patient assignments and is available 24 hours a day to help with any issues.
Respiratory Therapist
A certified professional who works under a doctor’s guidance in the intensive care units to improve your baby’s breathing capacity and efficiency until their lungs are working properly.
Lactation Specialist
A nurse or dietitian with additional training in breastfeeding and lactation (the body’s ability to produce milk). She will answer questions about breastfeeding and help you if you choose to breastfeed.
Social Worker
A licensed social worker with specialty training in perinatal health who helps with issues such as coping with the hospitalization of your sick infant, finding resources in your community, and preparing for the transition to home.
Inpatient Clerk
The first person to greet visitors as they arrive in the unit. Clerks screen guests, answer phone calls and help maintain medical records.
Family Consultant
A hospital employee whose own child has been treated at CHOP, and who now helps inform hospital staff about issues from a family perspective. The consultant can help you work through the sometimes-overwhelming hospital system.
Child Life Specialist
A professional with specialty training in child development and family studies who helps patients and families cope with the effects of hospitalization. The child life specialist also provides education and support for siblings.
Sonographer
A bachelor’s prepared imaging specialist who is certified as a registered diagnostic medical sonographer and has specialty training in fetal imaging.
Psychologist
A professional who has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and specialty training in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. A psychologist is available to help you discuss your thoughts and feelings as you interact with your baby in this stressful environment and can provide you and your family with emotional support throughout the pregnancy and during the postpartum period.
Speech Therapist
For newborns, a speech therapist can assess a baby’s readiness to begin feeding by mouth and make specific suggestions, such as what type of bottle to use.
Physical Therapist
These professionals can help families recognize an infant’s physical cues and behavior, such as signs the baby is tired or overwhelmed. The therapist will also assess motor and sensory skills and encourage their development through positioning and handling techniques, and family education.
Interpreter
In person or by telephone, interpreters are available free of charge for families who prefer to receive medical information in a language other than English.
Registered Neonatal Dietitian
This professional provides input on nutritional care and ways to improve growth, whether your baby is nourished by IV, feeding tube, breast or bottle.
Genetic Counselor
A master’s prepared professional with special training and board certification in genetics who assesses a family’s genetic risk factors for a birth defect, offers genetic testing options, and interprets results and recurrence risk.