14 September 2024

Generous donations into our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have allowed the charity to purchase two LifeStart bedside resuscitation units.

The LifeStart systems are designed to facilitate the optimisation of umbilical cord clamping in preterm infants at birth. With the new equipment, babies’ temperatures can be maintained in a safe way during deferred cord clamping which is not the case with the standard resuscitaires.

Staff in the department requested funding as they were keen to introduce this quality improvement initiative in maternity theatres and labour ward delivery rooms. With a deferred cord clamping, there’s a risk that the babies can get cold, or require additional support.

“These newly designed pieces of equipment will enable both the NICU and maternity teams to optimise the care of the baby while facilitating deferred cord clamping. Cord clamping helps the baby to have a smooth transition at birth and the LifeStart will help us to monitor and keep the baby warm in the first minute after delivery,” said Emma Woodhouse, Senior Sister in NICU.

The system will originally be used on very preterm babies, which currently equates to approximately 600 a year.