In late 2018, the six-time Olympic gold medalist was sitting in the neonatal intensive-care unit of a hospital outside Detroit, watching her weeks-old daughter fight for her life.
Her cousin, who was working a shift that night as a neonatal intensive care nurse, walked in.
The family’s initial bonding time was short-lived, as both babies were whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Lovelace did not respond to many of my questions but defended its track record of neonatal intensive care.
I sought New Mexico Health Department hospital inspection reports and regulators’ emails about neonatal hospital care.
“This morning we have had seven power cuts,” said Dr. Ahma al Moudi in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The Neonatal clinic for outpatients is relatively quiet compared to the maternity ward.
The most recent Weill Cornell study found the risk of neonatal mortality to be about 1.2 per 1,000 births.
Premature infants in neonatal intensive care are at high risk for infection.
Karen Santorum was a neonatal intensive care nurse for nine years, caring for the most fragile newborns.