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Hygiene in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Dear parents of children admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, we want to do our best to protect your baby and provide safe and professional treatment and care. To achieve this, we need your help. We hope you will take the time to read and familiarise yourself with our recommendations in this hygiene guide. Please ask us if there is anything you are unsure about.

A baby sleeping on a blanket

In a hospital environment, there are more bacteria, and they are often more resistant, than in your own home. Some bacteria are more aggressive and can cause serious infections.

In an intensive care unit, several sick children may often share the same room. This affects the amount of bacteria in the environment and increases the risk of transmission of infection.

Infections are almost always transmitted through our hands. This is why good hand hygiene is extremely important and the most important thing you can do to protect your child from infection.

There are the most bacteria on surfaces that many people touch with their hands, such as door handles, lift buttons, taps, chair armrests and mobile phones. Healthy people can tolerate bacteria on their skin. However, sick and premature babies can become seriously ill.

You can protect your child from infections by practising good hand hygiene. It is important that you clean your hands before touching or caring for your child, to prevent harmful and unwanted bacteria from being transferred to your child’s skin. These bacteria can spread further and may sometimes cause infections in areas such as the blood, lungs or eyes.

The best thing you can do for your child is to disinfect or wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.

Good hand hygiene

There are two ways to clean your hands:

  • Hand disinfection using alcohol-based hand rub
  • Thorough hand washing with soap and water

Hand disinfection with alcohol-based hand rub is the most effective method, and this is what we recommend you use. However, in a few situations you should wash your hands with soap and water:

  • If your hands are visibly dirty
  • After using the toilet
  • Before meals
  • Before and after expressing breast milk

In all other situations, use hand disinfection.

Both handwashing and hand disinfection

Hender som blir vasket under springen. Bilde.
Before entering and when leaving the neonatal intensive care unit, you should first wash your hands, then dry them, and afterwards disinfect your hands and wrists. Please refer to the posters showing how this should be done correctly.

Handwashing with soap and water

Use a total of 40–60 seconds:

  1. Wet your hands with water
  2. Apply enough soap to cover all hand surfaces
  3. Rub palms together
  4. Rub the right palm over the back of the left hand, including between the fingers, and vice versa
  5. Rub palms together with fingers interlaced
  6. Rub the backs of the fingers against the opposite palm with fingers interlocked
  7. Grasp the left thumb with the right hand and rub with a rotational movement, and vice versa
  8. Place the fingertips of the right hand in the left palm and rub in a circular motion, and vice versa
  9. Rinse hands under running water
  10. Dry hands thoroughly with a disposable towel
  11. Use the towel to turn off the tap

Hand disinfection

With alcohol-based hand disinfectant. Use a total of 20–30 seconds:

  1. Apply enough hand disinfectant to cover all hand surfaces
  2. Rub palms together
  3. Rub the right palm over the back of the left hand, including between the fingers, and vice versa
  4. Rub palms together with fingers interlaced
  5. Rub the backs of the fingers against the opposite palm with fingers interlocked
  6. Grasp the left thumb with the right hand and rub with a rotational movement, and vice versa
  7. Place the fingertips of the right hand in the left palm and rub in a circular motion, and vice versa
  8. Once the hands are dry, they are clean
  9. If your hands feel dry before 10–15 seconds have passed, you have probably used too little hand disinfectant

Remove rings, watches and bracelets before entering the ward and before starting handwashing and hand disinfection. These can be ideal hiding places for bacteria.

Make sure your nails are clean, short and free of nail polish. Bacteria that collect on jewellery, rings and under nails are usually harmless to healthy children and adults, but they can cause illness in vulnerable and premature babies.

Wear gloves when changing your baby’s diaper. Turn the glove inside out over the soiled diaper before disposing of it. Gloves are not completely impermeable and may have microscopic holes. Therefore, always remember to disinfect or wash your hands after removing your gloves.

These items are shared and used by many people. Therefore, always place a pillowcase or blanket between the nursing pillow and the blanket your baby is wrapped in. This helps protect your baby and others from infection. When you have finished breastfeeding, place the pillowcase/blanket in the laundry.

Always clean the entire chair with alcohol wipes before you sit down. Clean the weighing scale with an alcohol wipe before weighing your baby. The changing table should be wiped with an alcohol wipe, and paper should be placed on it before use.

Always disinfect or wash your hands immediately before and after expressing milk and handling milk. Never place clean or used bottles on the floor. Try to keep expressing as clean as possible.

Wipe the bottle with an alcohol wipe before placing it in the refrigerator. Place used pumping equipment in a basin on the counter.

The pacifier is replaced or scalded at least once every 24 hours by staff and should be stored in a separate box when not in use. Breast shields should be cleaned by staff after every use.

Anything that falls on the floor is considered contaminated. It must therefore either be discarded or cleaned. This also applies to items placed on the footstool, as it is used for placing dirty shoes.

Handbags are also considered contaminated and should be placed in a white plastic waste bag.

Flowers and soil may contain bacteria that can be harmful to your baby. Therefore, flowers are not permitted in the neonatal intensive care unit.

These guidelines apply to you and all other visitors. Please ensure that everyone who comes to visit performs proper hand hygiene, just as you do. We hope you will help us keep the unit as clean and free from bacteria as possible.

Please ask us if you have any questions. We will do our very best to make your stay in the neonatal intensive care unit as good as possible for you and your baby.

Last updated 6/23/2026