The situation is dramatic in the neonatal intensive care units

This is the alarming inventory that the French Society of Neonatology (SFN) has just drawn up. According to an audit submitted by The worldintensive care services that welcome sick or very vulnerable newborns are in a state of “very worrying”.

SFN presents a number of very significant obstacles: insufficient number of beds, extremely high occupancy rates, understaffed nurses, etc.

Infant mortality on the rise

For starters, SFN warns of rising infant mortality, unlike many other Western countries. This “excess” mortality among children younger than 1 year is largely due to “excess” of neonatal mortality, recalls the note, which reveals this “the first month of life represents 74% of deaths”.

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But another observation that appears in this double survey carried out last February and June shows that the provision of intensive care for newborns “ remains insufficient ». Second Elsa Kermorvantvice president of SFN: “ With the advancement of medicine, children today are born before twenty-six weeks of pregnancy and require strong support. […] Finally, we have an evolution in the philosophy of care with the desire to respect the child in his rhythms, to best support parents… All of this takes time. »he confided World.

A lack of staff

Therefore, the average bed occupancy rate increases, because it is between 91.3% and 93.8%according to surveys carried out between 2021 and 2023. As a result, almost a quarter of services report “ refuse regularly registrations due to lack of space »notes the investigation broadcast in The world.

Another problem reported by SFN: the lack of staff. It is noted that 72% of services encounter difficulties in ensuring continuity of care, with at least one pediatric neonatologist position vacant. But services are especially lacking for nurses, as it is believed that two years of experience are needed to reach a sufficient level of competence. But in 80% of these services at least a third of the nurses do not have them.