A call for zero separation – restrictive policies and their impact on neonatal care in light of COVID-19

More than one year into the pandemic and we are well aware that COVID-19 is affecting neonatal care. In many places, possibly in more ways than we initially appreciated. Recent scientific research has revealed that neonatal care in low- and middle-income countries has been affected to an extent that threatens the implementation of life-saving interventions.¹ Reasons for this development are certainly plentiful, including the concerns of medical staff and parents about contracting the coronavirus – a worry that in many places had been accelerated by the immense pressure put on the health system.

Sarah Fuegenschuh
Head of Communications

Johanna Kostenzer
Head of Scientific Affairs – Maternal and Newborn Health

European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants

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Keywords

retrieval; transport; transfer; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2;

Key points

Neonatal transport teams and units may be involved in moving suspected or confirmed neonatal COVID-19 cases.
Guidance on managing such transfers has already been published by the NTG and ESPNIC. ANTS has compiled additional practical recommendations from its experiences.
Together these recommendations will minimise horizontal SARS-CoV-2 spread during neonatal transfer.

Also published in Infant:

VOLUME 16/ISSUE 5, SEPTEMBER 2020

A structured approach to facilitate the reintroduction of parents in transport during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, transport teams ceased taking parents with them on neonatal transfers except in exceptional circumstances. With the easing of lockdown, the Acute Neonatal Transfer Service of the East of England (ANTS) recognises how important it is for parents to be involved in their baby’s journey and has developed a set of recommendations to mitigate the risk of horizontal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in transport.