Santa makes special stop to visit babies in intensive care unit

Some babies can stay in a neonatal intensive care unit for many months, but it doesn't mean the newborns have to miss Christmas.

At WellStar Atlanta Medical Center's NICU, Santa visited with 19 families and their babies earlier this month. Many of the infants were born premature, often with respiratory issues or infections, said Heidi Squires, who works with March of Dimes at the hospital as the NICU family support program coordinator.

Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center is the only hospital in metro Atlanta that partners with the March of Dimes to provide comfort and care to families while their babies are in the hospital, Squires said.

This is the second year the hospital has hosted the event, Squires said. Santa's visit was put on with help from hospital volunteers, and families received copies of the photos.

All photos in the slideshow below were provided by Claire Elise Photography.

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