High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A neonatal intensive care unit, usually shortened NICU (sometimes pronounced "Nickyou") and also called a newborn intensive care unit, intensive care nursery (ICN), and special care baby unit (SCBU [pronounced "Skiboo"], especially in Great Britain), or a humidicrib, is a unit of a hospital specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. The NICU is distinct from a special care nursery (SCN) in providing a high level of intensive care to premature infants while the SCN provides specialized care for infants with less severe medical problems.