30: Care of the Sick or Premature Infant Before Transport

Organized neonatal transport programs emerged in the late 1970s when perinatal care shifted to regional centers. Regionalization of care promoted maternal–fetal transport and reduced the number of newborns requiring postnatal transport. In addition, regionalization resulted in improvements in perinatal mortality¹  and neonatal morbidity²  as the percentage of very low-birth-weight infants delivered outside of tertiary care centers decreased. Sick or premature infants, however, continue to be delivered at institutions that are unable to provide for all of their medical needs. In some areas, organized regional perinatal care services have deteriorated. In all regions of the country, very low-birth-weight infants...