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Neonatal Critical Care Transport Protocol

When a newborn baby is critically ill and needs to be moved to a hospital that can care for it properly, medical teams follow a number of procedures to ensure the safe transport of the infant.

  1. Conditions

    • A number of conditions or illnesses qualify a newborn infant for transfer to a hospital more equipped to handle the problem, according to the University of Washington Academic Medical Center. These conditions include respiratory distress, low birth weight, congenital heart disease, newborn infections, blood disorders, seizures and babies of diabetic mothers.

    Decision

    • Before a newborn is transported to another hospital, the baby is evaluated by his physician who then consults with a neonatologist -- a doctor specializing in newborn diseases -- about the infant's condition. If the doctors decide the baby needs to be transferred, the neonatologist notifies the receiving hospital of the newborn's condition and when the baby will arrive.

    Transportation

    • An ambulance is often the quickest transport for a sick infant.

      Ambulances, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with neonatal mobile intensive care units are used to transport the critically ill infant, reports Bryan L Ohning, MD, PhD in "Transport of the Critically Ill Newborn." The type of transportation used to transport the newborn is determined by weather conditions, distance and geographic location. Ground transport is used primarily for a receiving hospital located within 25 miles of the birthing hospital.

    Transport Team

    • The newborn is prepared for transport by a highly specialized medical team that includes doctors, nurses and paramedics who continue to check and maintain the infant's vital statistics -- blood pressure, breathing and heart rate -- during the newborn's transfer to the receiving hospital.

    Equipment

    • The mobile neonatal intensive care vehicle includes at least one transport incubator, monitors to measure heart and respiratory rates, temperature, blood pressure and oxygen concentration. Ventilation, suction and intubation equipment is also included, as well as any medication that is needed, according to Ohning.

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