The following proposals have been developed in collaboration with the NNAP Methodology and Dataset Group, NNAP Project Board and other key expert stakeholders.
Probiotic use
This measure will seek to answer the question: What proportion of babies at highest risk of NEC receive probiotics for one or more days during their stay in a neonatal unit?
Probiotics have been shown to reduce the reduce the risk of NEC in preterm infants by approximately 30-45%. The measure seeks to support quality improvement by allowing units and networks to understand the extent to which eligible babies have received probiotics in the period under review.
Read the full measure proposal
Growth in preterm babies
This measure will seek to answer the question: Does a baby born before 32 weeks gestational age experience extrauterine growth restriction during their initial hospitalisation?
Weight gain and head circumference growth in preterm babies have associations with neurodevelopmental outcomes measured at two years of life. Good growth is characterised by a sufficient magnitude of growth and by proportional growth, meaning that a failure of weight gain or head growth (or both) would be considered an adverse outcome.
Read the full measure proposal
Share your feedback
Please review the proposal documents below and provide feedback on one or both proposals using the MS Consultation Form by 26 August 2026.
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