Organisation of care for moderately preterm infants in hospitals with low (n = 7) compared to medium-high (n = 14) postmenstrual age (PMA) at discharge to home
| Low PMA at discharge* | Medium-high PMA at discharge† | p Value | |
| Level 3 hospital | 3/7 (43%) | 2/14 (14%) | NS |
| Unit size ⩾50 infants/year | 4/7 (57%) | 6/14 (43%) | NS |
| Co-care mother-infant¶ | 5/7 (71%) | 8/14 (57%) | NS |
| NIDCAP in general use¶ | 3/6‡ (50%) | 6/14 (43%) | NS |
| Fixed criteria for discharge | 0/7 | 3/14 (21%) | NS |
| Domiciliary care available¶ | 3/7 (43%) | 8/14 (57%) | NS |
| Mean birth weight (g) | 2087 (480) | 2090 (466) | NS |
| Mean weight at discharge (g) | 2450 (395) | 2619 (447) | <0.001 |
Values are numbers of hospitals (proportions) or mean values (SD). p Values were calculated by χ2 test (proportions) or t test (mean values) and considered non-significant (NS) if >0.05.
*Low PMA at discharge consisted of 7 hospitals with a low mean value of PMA at discharge (No of infants = 781), ranging from 35.7 to 36.6 postmenstrual weeks.
†Medium-high PMA at discharge consisted of 14 hospitals with a medium or high mean value of PMA at discharge (No of infants = 1472), ranging from 36.7 to 37.6 postmenstrual days.
‡One hospital in the study group did not report on NIDCAP use.
¶Although item could be provided, the number of infants actually receiving each item could be lower.