Neonatal Formulary Drug use in pregnancy and the first year of life

by Ainsworth, Sean; Vasey, Nicola

• ISBN13: 9780198877219
• ISBN10: 0198877218
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780198877226
• Edition: 9th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-04-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Neonatal Formulary provides comprehensive guidance on the safe use of the drugs prescribed for neonates. It also provides guidance on safe use of maternal medications during pregnancy, labour, delivery, and during lactation. As well as many drugs encountered during the first year of an infant's life.

Part 1 focuses on drug storage, licensing, and prescribing. It also explains why neonatal drug metabolism differs from other age groups. Patient safety initiatives, excipients, and therapies that affect drug metabolism are also covered.

Part 2 covers over 250 drugs, vaccines, breast milk fortifiers, and specialist formula milks used in neonatal care. This new edition contains several new drugs and vaccines. Each chapter has been extensively reviewed and updated with new information that has come to light, such as using smaller syringes for infusions of short half-life drugs and nationally agreed standardised concentrations for infusions.

Part 3 discusses over 700 additional drugs and groups of drugs that mothers might be prescribed during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or during breastfeeding, and how these might impact on the fetus or infant.

On-line supplemental information is provided for medications that are no longer in common use as well as more in depth discussions about many of the commoner drugs still in use.

Containing far more detail than is available in the British National Formulary for Children, and with additional online material, Neonatal Formulary is an essential guide for neonatologists, paediatricians, neonatal nurses, hospital pharmacists, obstetric staff, and all health care professionals caring for pregnant women and their infants.

Author Biography

Sean Ainsworth, Retired (former Consultant Neonatologist, NHS Fife), ,Nicola Vasey, Lead Pharmacist Great North Children's Hospital Lead Pharmacist Neonates & Women's Services,

Sean Ainsworth was, for 20 years before retirement, a Consultant Neonatologist working in NHS Fife. His neonatal training in the North East of England brought him into contact with early editions of the Neonatal Formulary. He became involved with it when the 3rd edition was published in 2000, eventually taking over the writing and editing of the 7th (2014) and 8th (2020) editions. In addition to pharmacology, Dr Ainsworth has an interest in newborn resuscitation. He was a member of the Resuscitation Council (UK) Newborn Life Support sub-committee and of the European Resuscitation Council's Newborn Life Support Science and Education Committee.


Nicola Vasey is a registered pharmacist with 20 years of experience, working as a paediatric pharmacist and is also an independent prescriber. She has a specialist area of interest in neonatal pharmacy and neonatal parental nutrition. Nicola has undertaken roles nationally and regionally leading on delivery of pharmacy services to the neonatal setting. She is a guest lecturer at Newcastle University School of Pharmacy, working in collaboration with them to deliver student placement modules in the paediatric setting and collaborative research projects. She is also a co-founder and active member of the KidzMed Project Team; teaching children how to swallow solid dosage forms. Much of this work has been shared in different formats including online learning resources and journal publications.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Drug prescribing and drug administrationTerms, symbols, abbreviations, and unitsDrug storage and administrationDrugs and the lawThe care and use of intravascular linesMinimizing intravenous infusion and other drug hazardsPreventing inconsistent drug delivery during small-volume infusionsPatient safety initiativesExcipients in neonatal medicinal productsWriting a hospital prescriptionAdverse reactions and overtreatmentBody weight and surface areaRenal failureEffects of therapeutic hypothermia on medicationsPharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and appropriate dosingPart 2: Drug monographsDrugs A-ZPart 3: Maternal medication and its effect on the babyObtaining further information on the fetal and infant effects of maternal medication