Bliss research finds parents routinely left with no choice but to leave their sick baby overnight in hospital

1 in 7 babies born in the UK receives some level of neonatal care soon after birth, but for every 10 babies that need to stay overnight, there is only one room available for a parent to stay on the unit.

Despite longstanding government commitments to provide these facilities, parents of neonates aren’t routinely provided with anywhere to stay with their baby overnight, unlike on many other children’s wards. This is regardless of the length of time that babies might receive neonatal care, with many spending weeks or months in hospital without their parents by their cotside at the start of their life.

Bliss’ survey of 140 neonatal units across England found that 44% of units do not even have temporary beds such as reclining armchairs or fold-out beds next to at least one cot. As a result, Bliss has launched a campaign, “Families Kept Apart”, to highlight the impact of this issue on babies and families and calling on the NHS and government to put in place solutions to enable babies to have their parents with them overnight in hospital.

One parent said: “It was like torture having to leave my baby. A mum should be there day and night. Being at home felt so unnatural and so useless.”

Our research found that the key barriers stopping neonatal units giving parents the facilities they need to stay with their babies are:

• Lack of Government funding for improvements
• Limited physical space on the unit
• Inadequate supporting facilities like toilets and kitchens

Caroline Lee-Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, said: “On the neonatal unit, every moment is a chance for families to be partners in their babies’ care. We know that babies have better physical and developmental outcomes when their parents are by their side as much as possible, and this is equally important for parent mental health and wellbeing, and for parent-infant bonding.

“Having a sick baby in hospital can be isolating and extremely worrying, and this experience is made significantly more traumatic if you are forced to leave your baby at the hospital overnight. “Having a sick baby in hospital can be isolating and extremely worrying, and this experience is made significantly more traumatic if you are forced to leave your baby at the hospital overnight.

“Stopping the separation of parents from their sick newborns on neonatal units is a necessity, and we urgently call on the Treasury to identify the capital investment required to bring all parent accommodation to a minimum standard on neonatal units in the next spending review. This change is vital in order to empower parents to be partners in their babies’ care and create an environment where parents feel comfortable, valued and confident.”