Care at NUH

Neonatology

2024/10/04

Neonatology, a subspecialty of paediatrics, is dedicated to the healthcare of newborns.

Since its establishment in 1990, the Department of Neonatology at NUH provides comprehensive care for all newborns. The scope of practice encompasses Levels I, II and III Neonatal care. This includes pre-delivery counselling for high-risk pregnancies, attendance at high-risk deliveries, newborn resuscitation, neonatal intensive care, well-baby nursery care, post-discharge follow-up and continuity of care.

As of 1 August 2013, NUH is recognised as a Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)-certified Facility.

Our Team

Adedicated team of doctors and nurses at the department ensurescontinuous monitoring, investigations and specialised care fornewborns. Additionally, the team provides pre- and post-operative care for  newborns requiring surgery, including complex congenital heart surgeries and neurosurgeries.

Head of Division & Senior Consultant

Emeritus Consultant

  • Emeritus Professor Roy Joseph

Senior Consultants

Consultant

Senior Resident Physician 

  • Dr Shegufta Rahman

Resident Physicians

  • Dr Janaki Abirami Palaniappan

  • Dr Kalaimathy Veerappan

  • Dr Preeti Arora

Our Services

Inpatient Services

Well-newborn Care (Level I)

  • Management of Level I neonatal care in two nurseries within the postnatal wards.
  • Routine vaccinations as per the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule .
  • Screening for various conditions, including hearing impairment, congenital hypothyroidism, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, inborn errors of metabolism, cystic fibrosis, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, severe combined immune deficiency, galactosemia and biotinidase deficiency.
  • Phototherapy for newborns with jaundice.
  • Breastfeeding support through the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding program, with guidance from Certified Lactation Specialists and Lactation Counsellors.

Intensive Care and High Dependency (Levels II, III)

  • Management of Level II and III care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) for ill or premature newborns.
  • Support from a multi-disciplinary team including Neonatologists, Specialty Nurses, Allied Health Professionals including Dietitians, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and where required, Paediatric Cardiologists, Paediatric Surgeons, Paediatric Ophthalmologists, Paediatric Neurologists, Paediatric Nephrologists and Paediatric Neurosurgeons, among others.
  • Management of high-risk pregnancies by provision of pre-delivery parent counselling and obstetric collaboration in the antenatal period, delivery and post-birth.
  • Comprehensive care for conditions such as prematurity, congenital anomalies and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (injury to the brain during birth).
  • Post-operative care, palliative care and bereavement support.
  • For babies born premature or with illnesses that require prolonged stay in the hospital, we provide home equipment loan for ventilation or feeding, training for parents and support for home transition after discharge from the NICU and HDU.

Family-Centred Care

  • Emphasis on family involvement in the care of their newborn.
  • Encouragement for parents to room-in with their well babies post-birth and visit their ill or premature babies in the NICU or HDU.
  • Support from the Ronald McDonald House Charities Singapore® for families.

Outpatient Services

  • Follow-up consultations for newborns requiring specialist care, as well as healthy infants, toddlers and children up to 18 years. This includes monitoring jaundice, nutrition, growth and development, administering vaccinations and providing parents with anticipatory advice.
  • Care for high-risk babies discharged from the NICU and HDU.
  • Primary care for various complex neonatal and paediatrics conditions, such as congenital heart diseases, respiratory disorders, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, gastro-intestinal malformations and genitourinary defects, often in collaboration with paediatricians from different specialties.
  • Services for premature and developmentally at-risk newborns include long-term growth and developmental follow-up, multi-disciplinary interventional programmes and referrals to early developmental interventional programmes.

Our clinics are located at the Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute.

Our Support Group

NUH Neonatal Parental Support Group

The NUH Neonatal Parental Support Group caters to the needs of parents with newborns in the NICU. The Group’s mission is to offer information, support, encouragement and resources to parents and their families.

Sone services provided by the Group include:

  • Complimentary footprint service

  • Follow-up with telephone calls after hospital discharge

  • Connecting parents with others who have had similar experiences

  • Organising gatherings for families of discharged babies

For more information about this support group, inquiries can be directed to Nurse Manager Aliza Bte Kamsan at [email protected].

What To Expect At Your First Appointment

The first appointment for newborns typically occurs within one to three days post-discharge. This visit focuses on the transition from hospital to home for both mother and baby. The healthcare team will engage in discussions about the baby's well-being, with particular attention to feeding, urination, stooling, and general behaviour.

During the visit, the baby will be weighed, ideally without clothes and diaper, undergo a physical examination and have their nutritional status assessed. A non-invasive test may be performed to measure the jaundice levels (transcutaneous bilirubin) and additional blood tests may be conducted for selected babies.

The visit also includes providing parents with guidance on baby care and scheduling follow-up visits as necessary.

Health Information and Resources
Hello Baby Feb 2023
(PDF, 1.41 MB)
Safe Handling of Breast Milk
(PDF, 372 KB)
Ward 24 and Ward 29
(PDF, 200 KB)
Infant CPR
(PDF, 502 KB)
Infant Choking
(PDF, 540 KB)
Media Articles

World's Tiniest Baby Goes Home 

Local Media Coverage 

7 August 2021 

Discharged after 13 months at NUH, world’s tiniest baby is now a healthy 6.3kg 

7 August 2021 

重症监护室住一年多 世界最轻早产儿出院 

7 August 2021 

仅重212克 新加坡最小早产婴儿出院 

7 August 2021 

NUH’s smallest baby to survive birth discharged after 13 months in intensive care 

7 August 2021 

World’s smallest baby, born at 212 grams at NUH, now doing well at 14 months old 

7 August 2021 

Singapore's NUH manifest medical miracle by saving world’s smallest premature born infant 

7 August 2021 

早产婴儿体重仅212克 住院十多个月后顺利出院 

7 August 2021 

产下全球最轻早产儿 母亲产后四个月才能抱起宝宝 

7 August 2021 

NUH-இல் பிறந்த ஆகச் சிறிய குழந்தை13 மாதங்களுக்குப் பிறகு நலமுடன் வீடு திரும்பியது 

8 August 2021 

212g world’s smallest baby born in S’pore discharged after 13-month hospital stay 

8 August 2021 

Dipercayai bayi paling ringan di dunia, dibenar keluar dari NUH 

9 August 2021 

‘World’s smallest baby’ born the weight of an apple allowed to go home 

9 August 2021 

NUH's Smallest Surviving Baby Discharged Well to Home 

9 August 2021 

Singapore’s NUH Save the World’s Tiniest Baby Born at Just 212 Grams 

Foreign Media Coverage 

8 August 2021 

'Smallest baby at birth' home after 13 months in hospital 

9 August 2021 

The 'world's smallest baby' leaves hospital 

9 August 2021 

'세상에서가장작은아기'13개월치료후퇴원 

9 August 2021 

World’s smallest baby goes home after 14 months in hospital 

9 August 2021 

World’s smallest baby who weighed as much as an apple at birth is finally discharged from hospital after 13 months 

9 August 2021 

Smallest Baby Ever Who Weighed the Same As an Apple Finally Leaves Hospital 

9 August 2021 

Tiny baby in Singapore, just 7.5 ounces at birth, goes home after 13 months in hospital 

9 August 2021 

'World's smallest infant' discharged from hospital 13 months after birth 

9 August 2021 

World's ‘smallest baby’ returns home after spending 13 months in hospital 

9 August 2021 

'Smallest baby at birth' comes home after 13 months in the hospital 

9 August 2021 

'Smallest baby at birth' comes home after 13 months in the hospital 

9 August 2021 

World’s smallest baby who weighed as much as an apple at birth is finally discharged from hospital after 13 months 

9 August 2021 

В Сингапуре из больницы выписали младенца, который родился с весом 212 граммов 

9 August 2021 

'World's Smallest Baby' Goes Home After 13 Months In Hospital 

9 August 2021 

13 महीने बाद घर पहुंची दुनिया की सबसे छोटी बच्ची, पांचवें महीने में जन्म और212 ग्राम वजन 

9 August 2021 

ทารก“จิ๋วสุดในโลก” กลับบ้านแล้ว หลังรักษาตัวที่โรงพยาบาลนาน13 เดือน 

9 August 2021 

‘World’s smallest baby’ who weighed little more than an apple finally leaves hospital 

9 August 2021 

World’s ‘tiniest’ baby weighing the size of apple saved after 13 months in hospital 

9 August 2021 

世界最轻早产儿 出生体重仅212克 

9 August 2021 

Singapore: Baby believed to be world’s smallest to survive premature birth discharged from hospital after 13-month stay 

9 August 2021 

Yu Xuan, possibly the world’s smallest surviving baby, finally goes home 

9 August 2021 

出生仅212克 轻如苹果 世界最轻早产儿出院 

9 August 2021 

Kleinste baby ter wereld mag na dertien maanden in het ziekenhuis naar huis 

9 August 2021 

Singapore, torna a casa la neonata più piccola del mondo: pesava come una mela, dopo 13 mesi di cure sta bene 

9 August 2021 

La bambina prematura più piccola del mondo dimessa dall'ospedale dopo 13 mesi di cure 

9 August 2021 

Explained: The tiniest surviving babies in the world, and the risks of low birth weight in infants 

10 August 2021 

World's smallest known baby at birth, who weighed 7.5 ounces, leaves hospital 

10 August 2021 

World's smallest baby who was born four months prematurely weighing just 7½ ounces finally leaves hospital after more than a year in Singapore 

10 August 2021 

Baby believed to be world's smallest surviving infant at birth finally gets to go home 

10 August 2021 

'World’s Smallest Baby’ Weighed as Much as an Apple. She Survived. 

10 August 2021 

'World's smallest baby' weighing same as apple spends year in intensive care 
 

Click  here to read more stories in the media on the Department of Neonatology.

Find Us

Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute

For directions to the Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute, including access via MRT, drop-off points and parking information, click here.

For more information on our paediatric clinic or contact details, click here.

To make an appointment online, click here. 

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