Estimated neonatal survival of very preterm births across the care pathway: a UK cohort 2016-2020

Objective: Currently used estimates of survival are nearly 10 years old and relate to only those babies admitted for neonatal care. Due to ongoing improvements in neonatal care, here we update estimates of survival for singleton and multiple births at 22⁺⁰ to 31⁺⁶ weeks gestational age across the perinatal care pathway by gestational age and birth weight. 

Design: Retrospective analysis of routinely collected data. Setting: A national cohort from the UK and British Crown Dependencies. 

Patients: Babies born at 22⁺⁰ to 31⁺⁶ weeks gestational age from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020. 

Interventions: None. Main outcome measures: Survival to 28 days. 

Results: Estimates of neonatal survival are provided for babies: (1) alive at the onset of care during the birthing process (n=43 763); (2) babies where survival-focused care was initiated (n=42 004); and (3) babies admitted for neonatal care (n=41 158). We have produced easy-to-use survival charts for singleton and multiple births. Generally, survival increased with increasing gestational age at birth and with increasing birth weight. For all births with a birthweight over 1000 g, survival was 90% or higher at all three stages of care. 

Conclusions: Survival estimates are a vital tool to support and supplement clinical judgement within perinatal care. These up-to-date, national estimates of survival to 28 days are provided based on three stages of the perinatal care pathway to support ongoing clinical care. These novel results are a key resource for policy and practice including counselling parents and informing care provision.