Transferring babies between units: Issues for parents

This article is based on some material from a research study – Foretelling Futures: Dilemmas in Neonatal Neurology, funded by the Wellcome Trust Bioethics Programme (Grant Number 066458). It is a social science research project in four NICUs exploring how practitioners and parents share information and care of the babies. One of the issues arising from the study concerned parents’ emotional experiences when their baby was transferred to another NICU or special care unit, which was the case for 31% of babies in the sample. It is suggested that neonatal networks draw up a care plan with contributions from parents and staff about the parents’ and babies’ psychological as well as medical needs around transfer to another unit.