Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic

The Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic at Children’s Minnesota provides continuing care for babies who were born premature, with medical complexities such as congenital heart disease, or facing other health challenges.

Why follow-up care matters

Follow-up care is vital for babies who spend time as a newborn in an Intensive Care Unit. Babies are at an increased risk for medical and developmental complications in the first few years of life. Our team, which includes specialists from across Children’s Minnesota, works with your child’s pediatrician, other health care providers, and your family to create an individualized plan of care.

This helps children stay on track for growth and development, and they can receive ongoing care for any medical conditions they might have. The care your family receives at the Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic is intended to supplement, not replace, regular pediatric visits and well child check-ups.

What to expect

Your first visit to the Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic depends upon your child’s medical history. If they were born prematurely, the first visit would likely happen when your baby is 4 to 6 months old and scheduled from their mother’s original due date. Your child may be invited to the clinic earlier if there are specific medical concerns such as respiratory problems, oxygen use or a diagnosis of diaphragmatic hernia. If your baby was born with congenital heart disease, timing of the first visit will be after 1 year of age.

Visits could last one to two hours, depending on your child’s needs. During that time, our nurse practitioner or doctor will ask about medical and developmental concerns. They will review your baby’s medical history and complete a physical exam. Depending on your child’s age, our team will complete early childhood developmental assessments. Results of the evaluation will be discussed with you during the visit. We will also send a report to your child’s pediatrician. We will provide information about how to support development at home between visits. If you need a referral for a different kind of care or service, we’ll make sure you have that.

About the care team

Throughout this follow-up care journey, your family could partner with any number of clinical experts on our team, including:

• Neonatologist
• Certified pediatric nurse practitioner
• Occupational therapist
• Physical therapist
• Clinical psychologist
• Neuropsychologist

We follow infants and children through age 5 years and help to ensure tools are in place for a successful transition to kindergarten. We strive to be a resource for your family through infancy, toddler and preschool years.

Contact us

For scheduling and information about the Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic, contact us at 651-220-6144.