Going home

Illustration of a nurse with a baby Our team will begin to prepare for your baby’s discharge as soon as possible. Sometimes at the time of discharge, your baby may have ongoing needs like oxygen or tube feeding. In these cases, a detailed discharge plan will be put together to help you feel comfortable looking after your baby safely at home.

We hope that you will become confident and actively involved in your baby’s care throughout your baby’s journey in our Neonatal lntensive Care Unit (NICU) so that at the time of discharge you feel fully equipped to take your baby home. Before discharge ward staff will ensure that you feel confident in caring for your baby. They will provide support advice and guidance on feeding and all aspects of parent craft, including how to give any medicine your baby may need.

Before going home your baby will be fully breast or bottle-fed, and gaining weight. Before you leave, the nurse will also check that we have the correct discharge address and that your baby is registered with a GP. If you have any specific concerns regarding taking your baby home, please talk with the nurse looking after your baby.

Baby Clinic (outpatient department)

Once your baby has been sent home, they may need to come back to hospital with you as an outpatient to be seen by our Baby Clinic team, which is located on the ground floor of the Women's Hospital.

Here we see babies who have been looked after on NICU, Transitional Care or the postnatal wards. Our department consists of a reception, a waiting area, a weighing and treatment room and four consulting rooms. You’ll have access to a visitor toilet with baby changing facilities and we also have a private room available if you wish to breastfeed your baby there.

If you need to change or cancel your baby's appointment time or date, please contact us as soon as possible on 0121 335 8192. Alternatively, you can call our medical secretaries on 0121 335 8199.