Trends in length of stay for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients who die before hospital discharge.

Our findings demonstrate an increase in time to death for newborns who did not survive to hospital discharge over a 14-year period. This trend suggests that the dynamics informing Meadows' assertion that 'doomed infants die early' may be shifting, with some seriously ill infants who die before hospital discharge surviving longer than previously described. More research is needed to understand how best to care for babies who will not survive to discharge and to explore when supports such as palliative care consultation may be beneficial.