Welcome to our website

Ward 69 is the intensive care unit for premature and newborn babies. Together with the Clinical Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, we form a Perinatal Centre of the highest care level (Level 1). The highest level of care means that our ward is equipped both in terms of staff and medical technology so that we can provide our little patients with the best possible care, even in complicated cases.

Every year, we treat a total of around 500 - 600 children as inpatients. Around 120 of these are very small premature babies with a birth weight of less than 1500g. This makes Ward 69 one of the largest neonatology departments in Lower Saxony.

The MHH Children's Hospital has a high level of expertise in the areas of gastroenterology, cardiology, pediatric surgery, nephrology, oncology, pneumology and metabolic medicine, so that newborns with diseases from these areas are also referred to us from all over Germany.

Our Nursing is based on the MHH mission statement and the nursing concept of Hannover Medical School. It is planned, carried out and evaluated in a patient-oriented manner, taking into account the psychosocial situation. We are responsible for a certain number of patients within the scope of departmental nursing.

Our nursing team consists exclusively of full-time and part-time registered pediatric nurses, paediatric nurses and pediatric intensive care and anaesthesia nurses. Participation in internal and external training courses is an integral part of our Human Resources. We also hold regular team meetings and internal ward training sessions. New employees are introduced to their tasks according to an induction concept developed by the ward, which guarantees our patients a high standard of safety and care.

Our ward has a total of 26 beds and 2 emergency beds. The children are accommodated in two-bed and four-bed rooms.

Ward 69 cares for premature babies from the 24th week of pregnancy, sick newborns (e.g. with metabolic diseases, immunodeficiencies, sepsis, etc.) and children up to approx. 2 years of age following surgery and/or requiring intensive medical treatment.

The ward has an intensive care and an intermediate care (IMC) area. This enables us to care for both critically ill and more stable patients who require monitoring.

In addition to the care of premature babies, our range of care also includes all prenatally diagnosed conditions (diagnosed before birth) that require immediate emergency care of the newborn after birth, e.g. congenital malformations (e.g. critical heart defects, diaphragmatic hernias, meningomyeloceles, gastroschisis, maternal diseases with a fetal risk).

Our young patients are on our ward for a few days, but sometimes for several weeks or months.

There are no fixed visiting times in the intensive care unit for premature and newborn babies. In principle, visits are possible at any time. Due to patient admissions, ward rounds and examinations, you may not be able to be with your child for some time. During this time, you can take a seat in the parents' room in front of the ward. At lunchtime between 13:00 and 14:00, the nursing staff change shifts with a longer handover. To avoid long waiting times, you should not plan any visits during this time.

All children should go to bed at around 10 p.m. so that a natural day-night rhythm can be established, which is important for the recovery of young patients. In special situations, you can also stay with your child overnight.

Of course, siblings, grandparents and friends may also visit your child. However, for organizational reasons, only two people should visit your child at any one time. As a rule, one of these people should always be a parent.

If the siblings are suffering from a feverish infection, diarrhea or a childhood illness such as chickenpox, they are not allowed to enter the ward during this time.

It is very important for us to involve the parents in the care at an early stage in order to build up a parent-child bond and minimize fear of contact.

Another important part of neonatology is parent counseling. We offer parents various opportunities, such as the regular parents' café and the weekly parents' meeting. Together with various professional groups, parents have the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss and ask questions. Further information is available on the ward.

• You enter the MHH Children's Hospital (building K10) at the porter's lodge and go through the waiting hall to the right-hand door.
• Behind the glass door, walk down the corridor to the end of the hallway and turn left to the second elevator.
• Take the passenger elevator to level 3.
• Station 69 is located directly opposite the elevator.

Access to our ward requires access control. Please use the bell to register with us.

We offer all parents who are faced with the challenge of having a premature or sick child the option of a prenatal care visit. Our main concern here is to show parents how they can be there for their child despite the special situation.

Our specialized intensive care staff visit the parents directly in the women's clinic to inform them about the conditions in the premature and neonatal intensive care unit and their child's planned stay. During this visit, parents receive general information about the ward and its procedures as well as hygiene and other behavioral measures. In this context, it is also possible to take a look at the ward together.

With the help of a specially prepared bag containing, among other things, the utensils that are used on a daily basis, we provide a visual insight to give the parents-to-be an idea of what to expect.

In addition, parents receive information about the unique benefits of breast milk nutrition, comprehensive instructions on how to handle colostrum/breast milk and how to express. We also explain the importance of early parent-child bonding and offer various ways to build this from the start and the steps required to do so. During the prenatal care visit, we want to answer parents' questions, clarify their uncertainties, strengthen them in their parenthood and build mutual trust.