"We've already sent for a neonatal specialist," said Dr. Vender.

Hospital officials would not speculate on the infants' chances, but other neonatal specialists said that all but the smallest of the infants should, statistically, have about an 85 percent chance of pulling through.

Families may suddenly find themselves working with a team of neonatal specialists caring for their newborn in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.

Some infants with AIDS or at risk of developing the disease are probably being deprived of life-prolonging treatment for unrelated ailments, say researchers who surveyed 247 neonatal specialists.

Dr. Cheryl Menzies, a neonatal specialist and the baby's physician, said the baby was in serious but stable condition and on a respirator.

Much like adult intensivist Respiratory Therapists, neonatal and pediatric specialists deal primarily with managing life support for the pediatric or neonatal patient.

Dr. Jonathan Muraskas, a neonatal specialist at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago, was convinced that he could save the girl.

So she enrolled at an ordinary public high school and went on to become a neonatal developmental specialist, working in hospitals evaluating premature babies.

But despite the enthusiasm over this therapy, other neonatal specialists share concerns over its potential risks and about the criteria used to qualify newborn patients for the technique.

Fischer, an endocrinologist and neonatal specialist at Kaiser Permanente in Downey, Calif. - was arrested in February 1997 after young male patients accused him of improperly touching them during treatments.