Donate
Home > Services > Maternity > Leaflets and information resources > Neonatal resources

Neonatal resources

Useful neonatal leaflets, information and resources for the parents of babies who have been born prematurely.

Leaflet resources

Down Syndrome information

A leaflet containing information about Down Syndrome.

Fever in children

Helpful advice when your child has a fever

How to recognise if your child is seriously ill

Helpful advice when your child is ill.

Neonatal open access

Information regarding neonatal open access.

Neonatal sepsis

What to expect if your baby develops sepsis.

Neonatal venous and arterial access

A leaflet regarding neonatal venous and arterial access – what to expect.

Planning your baby’s discharge from the SCBU

What to expect when your baby is ready for discharge from the Special Care Baby Unit.

Protecting your baby from low blood glucose

Practical advice on how to protect your baby from low blood sugar.

Ultrasound examination for developmental dysplasia of the hips

What to expect if your baby has been diagnosed with developmental dysplasia of the hips.

Welcome to the Special Care Baby Unit

Everything you need to know if your baby is admitted to the Special Care Baby Unit.

Useful websites

NHS Your newborn baby

How to look after your newborn baby.

NHS Special care: ill or premature babies

Practical support and advice on looking after your premature baby.

NHS Caring for a new born baby

Practical advice on caring for your newborn.

Neoangels

Neoangels is a charity which supports families of sick and premature babies on the Neonatal Units at the University Hospitals of North Tees and James Cook hospital.

Leo’s

Leo’s has supported the mental health and well-being of neonatal families since 2018.

Bliss

Advice and support for parents who have a baby in a neonatal unit.

Lullaby Trust

Safe sleep advice for babies.

Northern Neonatal Network

Information on neonatal units in our region.

ICON

Information and support for if your finding baby’s crying is overwhelming.

UNICEF

Advice for feeding baby, including foreign language resource.

Useful videos

NHS: How much sleep should my newborn baby have?

Advice from an NHS midwife on new born baby’s sleep patterns.

Video transcript

Some babies will actually sleep up to 18-20 hours a day but it’s important to remember that not all babies will sleep that much and every baby is different.
Some babies may be sleeping through the night when they are around 8 weeks old but it’s much more likely that your baby may actually not sleep completely through the night. Particularly if you’re breastfeeding your baby, they may well still require a feed at some point during the night. It is important you don’t compare your baby to any other.
Once you’ve had time with your baby at home you may find things that help your baby to go to sleep in the evenings, such as a warm bath or a feed, or a lullaby.
You will start to learn what your baby needs to help them fall asleep.
Don’t worry in the early days if you find your baby doesn’t settle in their moses basket or cot, whatever it is you’re using. It’s very common that babies will fall asleep while being held by somebody and then wake when they are down in their cot, they simply just want to be near their human contact.
Please do try and get some sleep when your baby sleeps during the day because it will help you cope with the interrupted sleep at night.

NHS: How do I bath my baby

Advice from an NHS midwife on how to bath a new born.

Video transcript

My suggestion of how often you should bath your baby is two to three times a week. That’s our recommendation, however if you want to bath your baby every day, that’s absolutely fine, if it does establish a routine and you like it and baby likes it.
So to prepare to bath your baby you need to fill the bath up just with cold water first and then add the hot water. We recommend about 8 to 10 centimeters and then to check it’s the correct temperature, you use your elbow. You dip your elbow into the bathwater and it should just feel the same as your body temperature. So to top and tail your baby before you put your baby into the bath we need to strip your baby off down to the nappy and then we wrap your baby in a towel.
Using the water that you’ve already run for the bath, we will clean your baby’s face with cotton wool. Use a fresh piece of cotton wool for each eye to avoid infection and the same goes for your babies ears.
Make sure that you clean underneath your baby’s chin also and then we’ll move on to the bottom. We’ll use clean cotton wool, dip it in the water, wipe your baby’s bottom, wipe the excess away, make sure you’ve cleaned in between the folds and that your baby’s bottom is nice and dry before you put your baby into the bath.
We need to make sure that your baby’s secure so you put one hand underneath your baby’s shoulders and neck and the other hand supporting your baby’s bottom. Once your baby’s secure you can put your baby in the bath water, talking to your baby all the time.
So once bath time is over, bring your baby out of the water. Be careful because babies can be very, very slippy when they’re leaving the bath. Make sure you put your baby straight onto the towel and then it’s really important that you dry your baby properly. All the nooks and cranny’s.
Clean nappy, clean clothes and lots of cuddles. When you’re feeling more confident with baby bathing then you can put your baby into the main bath, but never ever leave a baby alone in the water.

NHS: How do I change a dirty nappy

Advice from an NHS Midwife on how to change a baby’s nappy.

Video transcript

Your baby probably needs changing, dependent on how often they wee, how sensitive their skin is and how much they cry. Babies with really delicate skin need their nappies changing as soon as possible. They quite often will cry as soon as they’re wet. It’s because their skin breaks down really quickly and they get sore nappy rash, so it needs to be changed as soon as they’re wet.
So you’ve decided your baby’s got a dirty bottom, so you’re going to find yourself a nice, flat surface. The ideal place for you to change your baby’s nappy is on the floor. There’s no change of your baby rolling off and hurting itself.
You need some cotton wool, some clean nappies, barrier cream, a waterproof surface or towel and a disposal bag. You have to be careful with a disposal obviously because it is a carrier bag or a plastic bag, so not near the baby’s head.
Once you’ve taken the nappy off and decided ‘uurgh’ it’s a bit dirty, clean as much as you can off wiping from front to back so you don’t get infections.
Whilst your baby’s laying there it’s nice to let it have some fresh air and blow on it’s tummy, play raspberries, tickle it’s toes and have time to bond with your baby, so don’t rush to get it covered up. Have some time and spend it cuddling and playing.
So once you’ve got your baby dressed and your baby’s nice and warm and secure you’ve got to clean up all the mess. Pop it all in your disposal bag, tie it shut and then out to the dustbin.
If however, you decide to use cloth nappies the procedures are exactly the same apart from you don’t throw the nappy away, obviously. Pop it in the washing machine, nice hot wash. Make sure it’s dry and you can reuse it.

Page last reviewed: