Is NICU care being driven by medical need or competition? A new Dartmouth study finds nearly half of newborns in NICUs are normal birth weight. The Dartmouth Atlas of Neonatal Intensive Care offers the first comprehensive examination of U.S. neonatal care across large populations of newborns. The report raises questions about how medical care is provided to our nation’s newborns, particularly to those born premature or with other health problems.
A new Dartmouth study found that admission rates to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are increasing for newborns of all weights. In effect, NICUs are increasingly caring for normal, or near normal, birth weight and term infants. The study, recently published online by JAMA Pediatrics, raises questions about possible overuse of this highly specialized and expensive care for some newborns.
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