Transportation of very low birthweight infants in 1986

Details on transportation of all infants with a birthweight less than 1500 g born in 1986 have been recorded. Of 413 liveborn infants, 182 (42.3%) were involved in 256 transportations. Sixty-eight infants (16.5%) were transported from home or from a lesser to a more sophisticated neonatal unit within 48 hours of birth for neonatal intensive care. Twenty-five infants (6.1%), comprising 12 in utero (9 mothers) and 13 liveborn infants were transported out of their region because of a lack of intensive care spaces locally: 17 of these infants, including five born in National Women's Hospital, were Auckland and Northland infants (this representing 15% of regional very low birthweight infants). Hamilton received 12 infants from outside their region (14% of very low birthweight infants cared for). One hundred and fifty-three infants (45.1% of 339 surviving infants) were transported from one of the five regional neonatal intensive care centres to a smaller centre nearer home following recovery from intensive care. Most neonatal transportation is highly appropriate transfer within regions enabling scarce skills and resources to be concentrated in the regional centre and allowing infants to return nearer home when they are no longer sick. The number of very low birthweight infants coming to neonatal intensive care units increased dramatically in the decade prior to 1986 despite a fall in total New Zealand births. Now that the total births are increasing again the pressure on neonatal intensive care spaces is likely to increase further.