Follow-Up Services

Baby Play Gym 

Baby play gym is offered to parents who have had their baby discharged home from RPA Newborn Care who live locally. Baby play gym is held on Tuesdays and runs for approximately six weeks. You can learn more about your baby as well as talk to other parents who have had similar experiences. Each week a guest speaker will provide information about different topics, including baby massage, child development, neonatal resuscitation, sleep and settling techniques, and childhood illnesses. The Newborn Family Support Team will give you an invitation for baby play gym when your baby is discharged home. 

Developmental Follow-Up Clinic

 The Developmental Follow-Up Clinic operates Monday to Friday and performs 3 distinct roles:

•  Early detection of abnormal neurodevelopment and initiation of appropriate therapies.
•  Continuing quality assurance for NICU outcomes.
•  Follow-up data for perinatal research.

The follow-up team consists of a nurse coordinator (Claudia Schwatlo), Developmental Paediatrician (Dr Ingrid Rieger), Clinical Psychologists (Dr Crista Wocadlo and Rhianna Wynters), and Paediatric Physiotherapists (Caroline Hardman, Melanie Bollen and Brianna Powell).

Inclusion criteria

Since the early 80s, babies at risk of abnormal neurodevelopment have been offered follow-up following discharge from the neonatal nursery. There have been minor variations in the inclusion criteria during this period but these are currently the following groups:

• Infants born less than 30 weeks gestation
• Preterm infants whose birth weight is less than the 3rd centile
• Infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy
• Infants with chronic neonatal lung disease (respiratory support beyond 36 weeks postmenstrual age) who do not meet other follow up criteria
• Infants with neurological concerns including infants with neonatal seizures, CNS infections, neonatal stroke and haemorrhage. 

Babies not qualifying for the developmental follow-up clinic are offered individualised follow-up at the discretion of the Neonatologist uinder whomo your baby was admitted.

Follow-up schedule (less than 30 weeks gestation)

Corrected age is used until 2 years of age:

• 6 weeks (physical examination)
• 12 weeks and 14 weeks General Movements assessment
• 4 months (medical and physiotherapy)
• 8 months (medical, physiotherapy, visual testing)
• 1 year (medical and developmental)
• 3 years (medical and developmental assessment)
• 5 years (medical and psychometric assessment, vision and hearing)
• 8 years (cognitive, educational, neuropsychometric, gross motor assessment) 

Babies enrolled in follow-up for indications other than being less than 30 weeks gestation are folllowed according to an individual schedule, according to need. Children are also seen at other ages if it is clinically indicated.