Abstract
Opportunities to discuss the safe transportation of neonates in Japanese neonatal care are limited compared with those in other countries. We investigated the current status of and issues related to neonatal transportation by car at our hospital. Between January 2015 and December 2019, 372 neonates delivered at a local clinic had to be transported to our hospital via ambulance because of unstable conditions. Among the 372 newborns, this study included 73 who returned to the original clinic after their conditions stabilized. The proportion of car use was higher than that of ambulances when the neonates were transported to the original clinic after being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit （NICU） throughout the five-year period （2015–2017: 100％ and 2018–2019: 50％）. Furthermore, 297 infants with a low birth weight （＜2,000 g at birth）, who were born between January 2015 and December 2019, were classified into three groups based on their anthropometric parameters （height and weight） at the time of discharge from the NICU: A （＜1,000 g）, B （1,000–1,499g）, and C （1,500–1,999g）. Our results showed that physiques in the C group, （whose severity was mild and conditions became stable fastest after admission, were the smallest among the three groups at the time of discharge. Given safe transportation after discharge, especially in infants with low birth weights who were one size smaller upon discharge than those who were born at term, it is required to pay attention to the gap between the infants and harnesses as well as the seated posture when using the child restraint system （CRS）. However, sufficient postdischarge instruction, including safe transportation, is difficult to achieve while using only the commercially available CRS. The development of a new CRS based on the recommendations of medical professionals will be required.
