How many babies are admitted to neonatal care at full term?
Around 60 per cent of babies admitted to neonatal care are born at full term, i.e. at 37 weeks’ gestation or above.
How long do babies typically spend on a neonatal unit?
In general, the earlier a baby is born, and the lower their birth weight, the longer they spend in neonatal care.
No matter the length of stay, a neonatal experience can have a long lasting impact on the whole family.
Why are babies admitted to neonatal care at full term?
There are a variety of reasons why full term babies need to be cared for on a neonatal unit.
According to the Bliss-supported NHS England programme, which looked at reducing the number of term admissions on to a neonatal unit, the five most common reasons were:
- Respiratory conditions (about 25 per cent of all term admissions)
- Infection (about 18 per cent of all term admissions)
- Hypoglycaemia - this is where a baby has low levels of glucose in their blood (almost 12 per cent of all term admissions)
- Jaundice (around 6 per cent of all term admissions)
- 81 per cent of these babies received phototherapy
- 33 per cent received intravenous fluids
- 1.6 per cent received a blood transfusion
- Asphyxia (HIE) (2.5 per cent of all term admissions)
