Going home with your baby is an exciting time that you have looked forward too since the moment your baby was born. We understand however that this time can also be very daunting for parents, when you have been surrounded by the consistent support from the neonatal team on the unit. Throughout your neonatal journey it is our role to prepare you as a family for your discharge home and ensure it is safe, supported and that you feel confident and reassured to begin your life at home as a family.
Every parent wants to know when their baby can come home so here is what your baby needs to be doing to be able to safely come home to you:
- Maintaining their own temperature
- Be fully fed (Breast, Bottle, Tube Feeds), tolerating their feeds and gaining weight steadily
- Be around 1.8kg and over in weight
- Breathing on their own with or without Oxygen support
Preparing for Discharge Home - An animated Guide by South West Neonatal Network - THE NICU Foundation
Transitional rooms
As seen in our virtual tour we have 2 transitional rooms on the unit for parents to room in prior to discharge home. Parents are offered the opportunity to room in with their baby for 24- 48 hours prior to discharge and provide all care for their baby with the support of the neonatal staff, if you require it. We believe that by rooming in this promotes a positive and reassuring experience for parents through building confidence, supporting breastfeeding and bonding with their baby. The nurses will discuss rooming in with you once they feel your baby is getting ready to be discharged home.
Discharge preparation
To prepare you all for discharge we have a discharge checklist which we go through with parents to ensure that the discharge home is safe and all preparations made in advance. The checklist looks at ensuring the following areas are completed prior to discharge home:
- Babies are registered with their GP
- Parents are confident and competent with all feeding aspects, administering any medications their baby needs, bathing and caring for their baby’s hygienic needs
- Parents are fully informed on Neonatal Resuscitation, Safer Sleep and How to Cope when their baby cries and how to be recognise and be responsive if their baby becomes unwell
- All required screening programmes, immunisation and appointments have been completed / arranged
- Specialist Teaching Packages completed for babies going home with Home Oxygen or Nasogastric Tube Feeds and open access to our Paediatric Ward organised if required.
- A successful car seat challenge – This is where your baby is placed in their car seat and monitored for 30 minutes - Safer Sleep and car seats
Here you can find guidance from BLISS about 'Going home on oxygen'.
Support at home
Babies who are discharged home from the neonatal unit will always have community support from either Neonatal Outreach, Community Midwives, Health Visitors.
Neonatal Outreach Team
We have our own dedicated team of neonatal nurses who provide support, advice, training and ongoing nursing care in the home setting for babies who have been discharged home with specialist care needs, this is to ensure a safe and seamless transition from the neonatal unit to the home setting.
Babies are followed up by Neonatal Outreach when:
- They have been born under 34 weeks gesational age
- They have born over 34 weeks gestational age and require ongoing neonatal nursing / medical support in the community
The neonatal team will come and introduce themselves prior to your discharge and explain their role. If your baby requires continued nursing / medical support after 6 months of discharge it may be that the Neonatal Outreach Team will refer you to our excellent Paediatric Outreach Team for continued support.
Community midwives
If your baby does not require the support of our Neonatal Outreach Team, you will have the community support from the our dedicated team of Community Midwives who will be visiting you postnatally.
Babies will be followed up by our Community Midwives when:
- They have been born over 34 weeks and are under 28 days old and do not require ongoing neonatal nursing/medical support at home.
We will notify the Community Midwifery Team of your baby's discharge and they will get in touch with you to arrange a visit.
Health visitors
We notify Heath Visitors off every babys admission and discharge from the neonatal unit
Babies will be followed up by their Health Visitor when:
- They have been born over 34 weeks gestational age and are over 28 days old
Watch this video from our Local Lancashire Health Visitors explaining their role:
Neonatal medical follow-up care and support
Most babies that have been admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will have Out-Patient follow up post discharge by the medical team. The duration of follow up is dependent on the baby's gestational age at birth and their continuing nursing / medical needs. Some baby's who have needed neonatal input on the Postnatal Ward/Transitional care may also need out-patient follow up.
- For babies born in the Preston & South Ribble area Follow Up Appointments will be held in the Children’s Outpatient Clinic service, here at Royal Preston Hosptal with our own Neonatal Medical Team.
- Babies born or who reside out of the Preston area will be referred back to their own Neonatal Unit and care handed over and continued by their own neonatal consultant and medical eeam.
- If your baby has required very specialist care at AlderHey or St Marys you may also have outpatient appointments with the specialist consultants at those hospitals outpatient clinics
All follow-up appointments will be discussed with you prior to discharge home and you will receive the appointments in the post. It is very important that all appointments are attended, to monitor your baby’s health and development.
Adapting to life at home
Experiencing the neonatal journey can have impacts on the whole family and it can take time to adjust to life at home. This is perfectly normal and we are here to help and support you all. It is important to talk to your community health care professionals if anyone is struggling with any aspects of having a baby that has been nursed on the neonatal unit. It can be very common that once home, thoughts images and feelings may surface regarding your neonatal journey and experiences. Please know we are all here to support you and offer guidance and help wherever needed.
5 Tips for taking your baby home from the neonatal unit
