Getting ready to go home

Every baby is different and has their own journey through the neonatal unit.

Before you can take your baby home they will need to:

  • be breathing without support (the need for low-flow oxygen for some babies is ok and training is provided if your baby needs this) 
  • be sucking all their feeds - breast, bottle or a combination
  • continue to gain weight
  • maintain their temperature

You will also need to feel confident in providing the care your baby needs.

We try and transfer your baby to a hospital closer to home when they are ready, though this isn’t always possible.

These hospitals have differing criteria on the age and weight of babies they can care for and the level of care they can provide.

Before transfer to another hospital or discharge home, planning needs to happen with you and your baby’s nursing and medical team.

When suitable, your baby will be transferred via our hospital transport service, taxi or the Newborn Emergency Transport Service (NETS). A nurse will always accompany your baby.

At KEMH we have a discharge coordinator who plans this with you.

At PCH the shift coordinator will help and discuss these arrangements with you.

 Transfer plan

You can fill in the following to have a note of the transfer plans for your baby:

  • My local hospital is:
  • My baby needs to be _______ grams
  • My baby needs to be _______ weeks corrected gestation
  • My baby will need to be on the following type of monitoring: oxygen saturation / cardiac monitoring / none  
  • My baby needs be feeding on _____ tube feed and _____ suck feeds per day before transfer

Your bedside nurse or discharge coordinator can help you prepare this plan.


From birth, free vaccinations are available to children according to the Childhood Immunisation Schedule and then through immunisation programs in primary and high school. These are all provided through the National Immunisation Program.

With parent consent, we will aim to start the immunisation program for your baby once they are well enough. The first vaccine offered is Hepatitis B which is given at birth or within the first seven days of life. If your baby is extremely pre-term or unwell, they may not receive this. The next vaccines are offered when your baby is 6 to 8 weeks old. If your baby is still in hospital, they will be monitored for 48 hours following immunisation.

Visit our Community Health – Immunisations page for more information or you can speak to your child health nurse about immunisation clinics in your local area. Your baby’s immunisation record card is located at the back of your Purple Book.


Below are some parent education sessions you can go to or watch before you take your baby home.

CPR training

Going home talk

Inflight oxygen talk

  • For country families if your baby was born less than 35 weeks and your return home is expected to be by flight.
  • Please speak to your nurse to book an appointment on Wednesday or Saturday 1:30pm at KEMH

Physiotherapy talk (developmental handling at home)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and safe sleeping

Preparation of formula

Taking your baby home is an exciting time for parents, though for some families it can feel overwhelming not having the support of the hospital staff at home. A final check of what to have ready can help you feel prepared.

    Organise a car seat to be installed in your car. Check the Kidsafe WA website for the latest information
    Hire a breast pump if you're still expressing
    If you are using EBM or formula make sure you have bottles and sterilising equipment
    A cot or bassinette for sleeping
    Clothes, wraps, blankets and nappies

To make sure you feel confident looking after your baby before you go, check the following:

    Do you know how to bath, dress, change a nappy and take your baby's temperature?
    Do you have a feeding plan for home? If you are breastfeeding do you have enough information and support? If you are using formula do you know how to make it up?
    Have you picked up your frozen expressed breastmilk?
    Is your baby going home on any medication and have you been shown how to give it to your baby?
    Have you attended all the parent education sessions?

The final check

    A copy of your baby’s discharge summary will be given to you or placed in the Purple Child Health Book before you leave. A copy with also be sent to your current GP so please make sure we have their details.
    Please ask the nursing or medical team if your baby will require any follow up appointments and if they have been made. You may receive confirmation of appointments once you are home.
    Make sure you have your baby’s Purple Child Health Book. This book is provided to every baby at birth and keeps a record of your child’s health and development from birth to school entry, in partnership with child health nurses and other health professionals. Please take the time to have a look through your baby’s purple book. We will have filled out the birth section and recorded any immunisations your baby may have had.

It is important to maintain the same hospital feeding routine when you first go home. You and your baby need time to adjust to life at home.

  • If you plan to breastfeed exclusively, it is important to gradually build up to all breastfeeds.
  • If your baby has only had 2 or 3 breastfeeds a day when in hospital and the rest are bottles, then you should continue to do 2 or 3 a day when you go home.
  • Maintain the hospital feeding routine until you have had your baby’s weight checked by the child health nurse or neonatology home visiting nurse.
  • If they have a good gain, then you can add in another breastfeed and decrease a bottle. It is good to alternate breastfeed and bottle at this stage so that your baby can rest in between.
  • Continue to increase the number of breastfeeds slowly like this while you monitor their weight.
  • Your baby will still need around 8 feeds a day.
  • If your baby’s weight is still less than 2500g they shouldn’t go longer than 3 hours between feeds.
  • However, if your baby wakes early and demands a feed, follow their cues and feed them at this time.
  • If you feel that your baby has not had a good breastfeed, it is important to offer them a top up with expressed breast milk (EBM) or formula (if no EBM is available).
  • If your milk supply does not reach the volumes that baby needs, they may need a top up using formula.

Expressing

  • On the day that your baby is discharged you will need to return the hospital expressing pump. However, it is very important that you continue to express routinely to maintain your supply until your baby is exclusively breastfeeding and your supply equals your baby’s needs.
  • If you have not already, you will need to hire or purchase a breast pump immediately. Pumps can be hired from the Breastfeeding Centre at KEMH, local chemists, the Australian Breastfeeding Association or from a private business.
  • If your baby has had a breastfeed, you will need to express for comfort afterwards.
  • If your baby has had a bottle feed, then you will need to do a full express.

Babies can go home on oxygen safely.

A small number of babies who are ready to be discharged home may still require supplementary oxygen.

If your baby is going home on oxygen you will be referred to the Respiratory Clinic at PCH and provided with all the information you need about home oxygen before you leave the hospital.

If your baby was born at less than 35 weeks gestation, they may require oxygen during the flight home. You will receive hands on education from nursing staff prior to discharge home. Further information for parents flying with oxygen can be found in our resource library.


Once your baby is ready to go home you are welcome to stay in our Parent Room for 1 or 2 nights with your baby, attending to all their feeds and cares.

This is available at the neonatal units at both KEMH and PCH, and you will have a nurse allocated to provide support if required.

If your baby was born prematurely, you may have read or heard different terms regarding your baby's age.

Corrected age is your premature baby's actual age minus how many weeks or months early they were.

For example, a one year old who was born three months early would have a corrected age of nine months.

Corrected age is helpful when assessing your premature baby's growth and development. Always consult your GP or paediatrician if you have any concerns.

Last Updated: 24/05/2024