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Academic training

In the United States, a neonatologist is a physician (MD or DO) practicing neonatology. To become a neonatologist, the physician initially receives training as a pediatrician, then completes an additional training called a fellowship (for 3 years in the US) in neonatology. In the United States of America most, but not all neonatologists, are board certified in the specialty of Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics or the American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics and in the sub-specialty of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine also by the American Board of Pediatrics or American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics. Most countries now run similar programs for post-graduate training in Neonatology, as a subspecialisation of pediatrics.

In the United Kingdom, after graduation from medical school and completing the two-year foundation programme, a physician wishing to become a neonatologist would enroll in an eight-year paediatric specialty training programme. The last two to three years of this would be devoted to training in neonatology as a subspecialty.

Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NNPs) are advanced practice nurses that specialize in neonatal care. They are considered mid-level providers and often share the workload of NICU care with resident physicians. They are able to treat, plan, prescribe, diagnose and perform procedures within their scope of practice, defined by governing law and the hospital where they work.

Treatment

Birth is one of the most common reasons for hospitalization. The average hospital costs from 2003-2011 for the maternal and neonatal surgical services were the lowest hospital costs in the U.S. In 2012, maternal or neonatal hospital stays constituted the largest proportion of hospitalizations among infants, adults aged 18–44, and those covered by Medicaid.

Between 2000 and 2012, the number of neonatal stays (births) in the United States fluctuated around 4.0 million stays, reaching a high of 4.3 million in 2006. Maternal and Neonatal stays constituted 27 percent of hospital stays in the United States in 2012. However, the mean hospital costs remained the lowest of the three types of hospital stay (medical, surgical, or maternal and neonatal). The mean hospital cost for a maternal/neonatal stay was $4,300 in 2012 (as opposed to $8,500 for medical stays and $21,200 for surgical stays in 2012).