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Neonatal–Perinatal Medicine Clinical Affairs

For more than 30 years, the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at UT Southwestern has provided care for both healthy newborns and those with complex medical and surgical problems. We oversee more than 20,000 births each year.

group of neonatal clinical faculty
Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Clinical Faculty

Fetus to Five: Innovative Programs that Improve Outcomes

Our Fetus to Five comprehensive clinical care program incorporates three elements:

  • FETAL program: The FETAL (Fetal Evaluation and Treatment Alliance) program has provided exceptional antenatal/fetal care for parents whose fetus has been diagnosed with a congenital anomaly or condition warranting treatment either in-utero or in the neonatal period. The program now offers antenatal consultations with all pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists.
  • NeuroNICU: In our neuroNICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), the neonatal neurology team is consulted for any concerns of seizures, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and intraventricular hemorrhage, as well as any preterm infant under 32 weeks of gestation with published neuroimaging, follow-up protocols, and guidelines.
  • Thrive Program: This is a unique, comprehensive outpatient follow-up program that provides primary care and neurodevelopmental services for high-risk infants from birth to 5 years of age. Distinct among NICU follow-up models, the Thrive Program functions as a full medical home, offering routine well-child care, acute and chronic illness management, after-hours support (via phone or pager), and coordinated neurodevelopmental assessments.

By providing comprehensive care from before birth through the first 5 years, we can reduce life-threatening illnesses and help ensure optimal health and development for children.

Neonatal Outreach Program

To strengthen newborn care across Texas, we’ve built collaborative partnerships with hospitals and NICUs throughout the state. Our Neonatal Outreach Program – a joint venture between UT Southwestern and Children’s HealthSM – is rooted in shared goals and mutual support. Together with our community partners, we focus on: 

  • Improving communication with referring providers and institutions
  • Providing ongoing education through monthly webinars, which are approved for CME, CNE, and MOC-2 credits
  • Promoting consistency in care by sharing clinical guidelines and best practices

Our team works closely with each partner site to understand their unique strengths and needs, fostering a relationship built on trust, respect, and a shared commitment to high-quality care.

In addition to virtual learning, the program is actively expanding in early 2026 to include hands-on training at community sites, offering simulation-based education, mock code sessions, and procedural skill development.

This collaborative approach has enhanced provider engagement, strengthened institutional relationships, and most importantly, helped ensure better outcomes for newborns and their families across Texas.

Neonatal ECMO and Critical Care Program

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-support system for patients with severe heart or lung failure when other treatments fall short. Our Neonatal ECMO and Critical Care Program helps ensure the highest quality of care and ethical decision-making for every patient in our NICU.

As part of the program, we created a multidisciplinary team with experts from neonatology, surgery, cardiology, nephrology, hematology-oncology, ethics, and neurology. We also developed robust evidence-based neonatal ECMO management guidelines that ensure treatment-strategy consensus among team members.

The program has produced exceptional patient outcomes. Our multidisciplinary approach has contributed to a remarkable 92% survival rate off ECMO and 75% survival to discharge, exceeding national benchmarks.

Facilities

Our faculty offers clinical services at several different locations within the UT Southwestern system.

  • Parkland Health & Hospital System
    • NICU: Since 1974, the NICU at Parkland Memorial Hospital has been providing exceptional and comprehensive care to critically ill newborns. This was the first NICU in Dallas County and is the largest Level III unit in the region. Our 96-bed unit averages about 1,400 admissions annually, almost 100 admissions a month. Our staff consists of a collaborative team of physicians, nurses, and support staff who are all highly experienced in caring for a wide array of neonatal disorders, both medical and surgical. Working closely with our highly skilled colleagues in the maternal-fetal medicine department, we are able to provide exceptional care both before and after birth. This teamwork has resulted in one of the lowest mortality rates in the country. Learn more about the Parkland NICU.
    • Newborn Nursery: With more than 12,000 deliveries a year, the newborn nursery at Parkland Hospital is one of the busiest in the country. Under the supervision of pediatric faculty from the Neonatal–Perinatal Division, pediatric residents and pediatric nurse practitioners provide comprehensive care for both term and near-term infants from birth through discharge. Learn more about the Newborn Nursery at Parkland. Parkland newborn services is a dedicated site for the CDC Initiative on Best Fed Beginnings, a program to encourage exclusive breastfeeding with a goal to obtain “Baby Friendly” designation for the hospital.
    • Labor and Delivery: We provide a unique and highly trained neonatal resuscitation team that attends more than 300 high-risk deliveries a month and has the capability to deliver leading-edge delivery room care in even the most complex cases, including EXIT (ex utero intrapartum treatment) procedures. Under the direction of Myra Wyckoff, M.D., an internationally acclaimed physician in neonatal resuscitation research, the labor and delivery faculty provides a unique resuscitation rotation for fellows, residents, and medical students, which includes exposure to a computerized patient simulator, participation in resuscitation research, review of the literature, and attendance at high-risk deliveries.
  • Children’s Health
    • Level IV NICU: The NICU at Children's combines advanced technology with highly trained health care professionals to provide comprehensive care for critically ill newborns. This state-of-the-art, 47-bed NICU opened in 2009 as the premier referral unit in North Texas. The NICU staff, under the supervision of faculty members from the Division of Neonatal–Perinatal, is experienced in caring for a wide array of neonatal disorders, both medical and surgical. Through an integrated collaboration between Children’s and an extensive network of pediatric subspecialists from UT Southwestern, this NICU is able to provide exceptional care tailored to the specific needs of each patient. Learn more about the NICU at Children's.
    • Low Birth Weight Clinic (Thrive Program) at Children's: The Low Birth Weight Clinic provides comprehensive medical and psychosocial treatment through intensive intervention, education, social services, and developmental testing for high-risk infants from birth to age 5. Learn more about the services provided by the Low Birth Weight Clinic.
    • The Fetal Evaluation and Treatment Alliance (FETAL) and The Fetal Center: Established in 2008, this program has grown substantially and culminated in the opening of a dedicated Fetal Center in 2014. FETAL is the only program in North Texas offering a full continuum of specialized care for pregnant women diagnosed with fetal anomalies. Patient families and their referring providers receive prenatal conferences with a highly specialized multidisciplinary team, all in one location, that brings the expertise of UTSW subspecialists to the affected baby at risk. A personalized approach addresses each in utero diagnosis to determine the best strategy for pregnancy, delivery, and continuity of care after birth. Receiving care through the FETAL Center provides access to maternal-fetal medicine specialists, a world-renowned neonatal resuscitation team, and a complete range of pediatric and surgical subspecialists who work together to deliver the highest level of comprehensive care. Learn more about the services provided by FETAL.
    • TeleNICU: In 2013, in collaboration with Children’s Health, we launched TeleNICU, the state’s first dedicated neonatal telemedicine service and one of the most sophisticated systems of its kind in the U.S. TeleNICU links specially trained, board-certified UT Southwestern neonatologists at Children’s Health to physicians at other hospitals’ NICUs to consult and assist in the management of the sickest and most fragile infants. Using specialized equipment and secure broadband transmission, our dedicated neonatologists provide 24/7 two-way, real-time communication with other facilities – enabling virtual examination of newborns in distant NICUs. Participating hospitals that have Level III NICU nurseries connect with UTSW neonatologists using a mobile equipment cart with medical-quality videoconferencing capabilities, secure data transfer, and digital equipment that permits diagnostic testing. Our physicians are able to use specialized cameras to perform high-definition visual examinations and high-tech stethoscopes to listen to the baby’s heart and lungs. Information Week named TeleNICU as one of the Elite 100 Information Technology Innovations in 2015. Learn more about the services provided by TeleNICU.
    • Children’s Health was ranked 17th nationally in Neonatology by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025.
  • William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital
    • Level III NICU: William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital features 30 NICU rooms, giving each baby his or her own room, in a space sized to easily accommodate both hospital staff and parents. State-of-the-art neonatal care, including mechanical ventilation, both conventional and high frequency, inhaled nitric oxide therapy, and outstanding nursing care, is provided to fragile infants. Parents can sleep in the room overnight with their newborns – enabling parents to focus on their infant and build bonds that will help the baby grow stronger. Research shows that more parental involvement helps babies with weight gain, breastfeeding, and earlier release from the hospital. Learn more about the services provided at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital NICU.
    • Newborn Nursery: The labor, delivery, and recovery rooms combine modern technology with a warm, homelike environment to provide a safe and comfortable experience for mothers and families. Our highly experienced newborn physicians provide state-of-the-art care for the newborn infant. Lactation consultants provide breastfeeding assistance. UT Southwestern Medical Center is a member of the Texas Ten Step Program to improve maternity care practices. Policy development, education of staff, and provision of discharge resources for breastfeeding mothers are key initiatives of the program.
  • Southwestern Health Resources – Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (THD)
    The Division assumed care of the newborn infants in the NICU and Special Care Nursery at THD in September 2015, marking the beginning of Southwestern Health Resources, a close affiliation between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources.
    • Level III NICU: Located on the third floor of the Margot Perot Center at Texas Health Dallas, a 47-bed Level III NICU provides 24-hour comprehensive care to premature, high-risk, and ill infants. The self-contained program offers therapies, equipment, and an experienced multidisciplinary specialist team that includes UTSW neonatologists, medical subspecialists, and surgeons, as well as excellent neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and occupational therapists.
    • Special Care Nursery: The Special Care Nursery provides specialized services and medical monitoring for infants who have graduated from the NICU but still require additional care. The nursery is staffed by board-certified UT Southwestern neonatologists who provide around-the-clock expert care for premature and special-needs infants. This 44-bed nursery is the only Level II nursery in the Dallas area that offers private rooms. Parents are able to room with their infants in hotel-like surroundings that include a refrigerator, granite countertops, a flat-screen TV, and a private bath, thereby encouraging parents to spend as much time with their babies as possible.
    • Thrive Program at THD: As an extension of the Thrive Program at Children’s, Thrive at THD skilled developmental specialists and pediatricians provide comprehensive developmental testing for high-risk infants who have graduated from THD and surrounding NICUs.
    • FETAL at THD: The Fetal Evaluation and Treatment Alliance (FETAL) provides fetal consultations at the Children’s Health Specialty Center Park Cities, located in the Margot Perot Center for Women & Infants at THD. Staffed by UT Southwestern neonatologists, pediatric subspecialists, and surgical specialists, this program extends the continuum of specialized care for pregnant women diagnosed with a fetal anomaly.
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