Gentle Hands Program

One of California’s Top-Ranked NICU Departments

• Each year, more than 450 of our community's most medically-fragile infants begin their journey with a stay in the Children’s Hospital Oakland Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Thanks to our team of specially-trained experts, cutting-edge technological resources, and a wide range of advanced newborn services like the Gentle Hands Program, Children’s pediatric intensive care survival rate is one of the highest in the country.

Empowered Parents, Interactive Care

• The sophisticated medical interventions that keep babies in the NICU alive can be overwhelming and stressful for both babies and parents. Our goal is to make the experience in the nursery as sensitive to the child’s development needs as we can, while empowering families in the care of their babies.
• In many pediatric hospitals, families are left outside of the care circle. At Children’s Hospital Oakland, we ensure that the infants' families become an integral part of the team caring for their child right from the start.

Gentle Hands Program for NICU Families

• The Gentle Hands Program provides individual expert guidance for your first physical interactions with your child.
• Once your baby is medically stable, our specialists encourage skin-to-skin holding and parent interaction wherever possible.