Newborns given precautionary antibiotics can go home for treatment, says NICE

Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that babies born after 35 weeks who are on IV antibiotics can be offered liquid oral antibiotics to be completed at home, if they meet certain conditions.

A newborn on the lap of its mother in hospital, showing hospital wrist band — The updated guidance follows a pilot across nine NHS sites in England — the results of which showed that “babies who complete their antibiotic course at home do just as well as those who remain in hospital”

Newborn babies who are on IV antibiotics can be switched to oral antibiotics and treated at home if they are stable, according to updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Published on 13 May 2026, the guidance update said babies born after 35 weeks on IV antibiotics can be switched to a liquid oral antibiotic and complete the course at home if they are stable and test negative for infection. They should also be feeding well and responding as expected to treatment.

The guidance was informed by results of three pilots carried out across nine NHS sites in England, which showed that “babies who complete their antibiotic course at home do just as well as those who remain in hospital”, NICE said.

Evidence from the Neonatal Oral Antibiotics at Home project — a pilot site in Devon — revealed that the average hospital stay reduced by 2.7 days per baby under this approach. The project estimated that up to 12,000 babies per year could benefit if the change was rolled out nationally.

Holly Barker, lead clinical pharmacist for paediatrics, neonates and women’s health at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who was involved in the pilot, told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “This is such exciting news, and as a team in Exeter, we are thrilled our work has impacted national practice.

“Our families report such a positive experience from this oral switch; being able to take baby home sooner and care for them as a family is very impactful and meaningful.

“In practice, babies are having shorter admissions, which means that our cot capacity and patient flow is better. As a rural trust, this helps keep families local.”

She added: “It is also important to mention the associated cost savings as a result of this project and the positive environmental impact, with oral suspension having a smaller carbon footprint compared to IV medicines and the associated ancillaries.

“As a pharmacist in a district general hospital, I am proud to have been part of project that has contributed to national guidance and that will improve the experience of the babies and families in our care, whilst maintaining safe and effective treatment.”