Stable Trends in Clinical Outcomes Before Introduction of Couplet Care in a Danish Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Prior to the implementation of couplet care in 2025, knowledge of clinical outcomes was central to support feasibility and future evaluation. We aimed to review trends on mode of delivery, duration of respiratory support, nutrition at discharge and weight gain.

This was a descriptive register-based study that used data from a local database, Neobase. The database consisted of prospectively collected data on all infants admitted and discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit in the Capital Region of Denmark. Demographic and clinical data in the period of 2018-2024 were retrieved and analysed.

We included 4969 infants with a mean gestational age of 37, 6 weeks and a mean birth weight of 2926 g. Vaginal birth was the most frequent mode of delivery. However, a slight upward trend in Caesarean section was observed. The majority of infants were discharged on their mothers' milk. The median duration of respiratory support remained stable at 1 day, and the median weight gain remained zero throughout the study period.

Key outcomes considered sensitive to couplet care remained stable over the seven-year period. These findings establish an essential reference for the prospective evaluation of couplet care, as well as its feasibility in practice.