Mother Newborn Care Unit: An Innovation for Improving Survival of Small and Sick Babies at Tertiary Level Facility

Currently in Mother Newborn Care Unit (MNCU) facility, small and sick newborns receive level II intensive care alongside their mothers 24 × 7. The present manuscript shares the mother- newborn dyad care in MNCU for small and/or sick newborns irrespective of birth weight and gestation, requiring level III intensive care. Before February 2024, in Safdarjung Hospital, the extramural neonates used to be admitted and managed in the pediatric wards with older children without dedicated place for newborns. In February 2024, Safdarjung Hospital operationalized 40 bedded level III MNCU for extramural sick neonates of all gestation and birth weight. Group I represents the data of babies before development of MNCU (May 2023 to Jan. 2024) and Group II represents the data post development of MNCU (Feb. 2024 to Oct. 2024). In-hospital mortality was 28.3% (515/1822) among infants in the Group I and 18.7% (370/1980) in the Group II. Breast feeding and Kangaroo Mother Care rates significantly increased after operationalization of MNCU.