NICUn.
/ˈnɪkjuː/, U.S. /ˈnɪkju/; Sometimes also pronounced as an initialism. Originally and chiefly U.S.
A hospital ward providing newborn infants with specialized or intensive care, esp. as a result of illness or premature delivery or birth. Cf. SCBU n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > hospital ward > types of ward
foul ward1734
day ward1801
eye ward1828
casualty ward1836
scarlet ward1888
out-ward1890
observation ward1908
open ward1919
casualty1927
post-op1929
Nightingale ward1930
private1942
surgical1961
SCBU1968
NICU1971
pre-op1991
1971 L. Indyk & S. Cohen in Clin. Pediatrics 10 320/1 These newborns [sc. seriously ill infants] are usually transferred within hours of birth to a regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in a metropolitan area.
1973 C. H. Harris in Nursing Clinics of N. Amer. 8 ii. 522 All of the nursing personnel who work in the NICU must be informed about specific diseases of newborns.
1983 Virginia Law Rev. 69 547 These new NICUs have made it possible to save the lives of newborns who, only a few years ago, would have died.
1998 Bristol Post (Nexis) 18 Dec. 8 It's impossible to understand quite how terrifying the situation is for new parents whose newborn children are in the NICU.
2005 B. K. Timby & N. E. Smith Essentials of Nursing iv. 56/1 These [sc. premature] babies are most often cared for in NICUs, with many monitors, wires, IV lines, tubes, and all their accompanying noises.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1971