title: Preventing in-hospital newborn falls: a literature review.
abstract: In-hospital newborn falls are arguably one of the most underresearched and underreported issues for organizations that care for newborn patients. From the few published statistics of in-hospital fall rates, we know that perhaps 600 to 1,600 newborn falls occur annually. Many of these falls can result in injury or even death of the newborn, legal issues for the institution, and severe emotional stress to the caregiver(s) and parents. Therefore, we searched the literature to ascertain causation and associated risks associated with in-hospital newborn falls. This is an important issue for nurses to understand because not only can the newborn be harmed due to a fall, but the actual newborn fall can also elicit strong feelings of guilt and culpability in the caregiver(s). This article reviews the literature to examine what is known about the factors associated with in-hospital newborn falls, to explore prevention measures, and to present best practices for how to adopt safe-sleep policy to prevent newborn falls.
authors.affiliation: Tara Matteson is a Nurse Educator for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Passavant, PA, and an Adjunct Instructor for Indiana State University, IN. She can be reached via e-mail at tara.matteson@gmail.com Audery Henderson-Williams is a Clinical Coordinator, DeKalb Medical Center, GA. Jessica Nelson is a Chairperson and Assistant Professor at Indiana State University, Terre Haute IN.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matteson
authors.forename: Audery
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Henderson-Williams
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000517:prevention & control