When should a neonatal death be referred to the coroner? Initiation of a guideline to aid decision making

Despite improved survival, particularly for extremely preterm infants, sadly some neonates die. When this happens, it may be appropriate to refer the death to the coroner, however, there is huge variation in practice between settings regarding the coroner referral process. After a particular case concerning several hospitals, we reviewed available evidence and produced a guideline to aid this process, involving both neonatologists and our coroner’s office, and including parental concerns. This has enabled a systematic, transparent approach that is equal for all infants.

Narendra Aladangady
FRCPCH, PhD
Consultant Neonatologist and Honorary Clinical Professor in Child Health, Neonatal Unit, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, and Queen Mary University of London
n.aladangady@nhs.net

Philippa Chisholm
FRCPCH
Consultant Neonatologist, Neonatal Unit, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London

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Keywords

infant massage; weight gain; breastfeeding frequency; neonatal jaundice; hyperbilirubinaemia

Key points

Maternally administered massage promotes increased frequency of breastfeeding and weight gain in term infants.
An interactive behavioural cues-based massage programme can decrease the rate of hospital readmission due to neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Also published in Infant:

VOLUME 15/ISSUE 4, JULY 2019

Phototherapy at home for the treatment of neonatal jaundice: a patient-centred pilot project

Phototherapy is a well-established procedure and the mainstay of treatment for significant neonatal jaundice. Usually, phototherapy is delivered in hospital, typically requiring a hospital stay of a few days. This article describes a pilot project to introduce phototherapy for the management of neonatal jaundice in clinically stable preterm and term infants with haemolytic disease of the newborn using a phototherapy blanket at home.