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A number of babies who have spent prolonged periods of time within neonatal services, especially if born prematurely, will require a continuous supply of oxygen to support his/her breathing. However, this will not stop you from making progress towards home. Many babies go home on oxygen, but this can still be a daunting and scary time for parents. Before you leave the hospital the staff will teach you all about oxygen, what it does, how it should be administered and how we will monitor your baby once you are home. You will also be taught basic life support skills so that if your baby does not receive enough oxygen at home you will be prepared and know how to react. However, in an emergency situation that you do not feel you can control, you should always dial 999 for an ambulance rather than trying to contact the neonatal unit, SCBU or community team.

 

 

It will be necessary to have an oxygen supply throughout your home, which will be organised by the hospital, as well as portable oxygen so that you can still get out and about with your baby. Once you are home you will be fully supported by the neonatal community support team, alongside your usual health visitor. The community team are all neonatal nurses, many of whom you will have probably met during your stay at hospital. They will visit 1 to 2 times a week, monitor your baby’s oxygen level during their visit, as well as answer any questions or worries that you may have.

 

Once you are settled at home and if your baby is well, the time may come to reduce the amount of oxygen that your baby is getting. This well be done by a specialist nurse during a sleep study, which will monitor your baby’s oxygen levels throughout the night, during which time the oxygen can be gradually reduced to see how well your baby copes. If your baby copes well with the reduced amount of oxygen then it will stay at this reduced level until the community nurse feels that your baby may tolerate it being reduced again. 

 

The community team will continue to support and visit throughout the time your baby is receiving oxygen at home. You will be given a contact number if you have any problems or queries in between these visits.