New special sleeping bags allow babies with jaundice to be treated at home
Babies with jaundice can now be treated at home using a special light up sleeping bag and expert support from neonatal teams at Royal Derby Hospital.
Parents and families are benefitting from the new Neonatal jaundice clinic and virtual ward team which supports families to give phototherapy treatment to their babies at home, using equipment that gently wraps around the baby's body and provides therapeutic light treatment - affectionately named the 'glow-worm' by one parent who benefited from the kit.
Jaundice is common in newborn babies and causes yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. In most babies, it is mild and easy to monitor and treat. It happens when a substance called bilirubin builds up in the blood. Bilirubin is made when red blood cells are broken down.
Newborn babies have more red blood cells than adults, this therefore means that their body has a large number of red cells to process. In a newborn baby the liver is also still developing, so it cannot remove bilirubin as well. This can lead to a temporary build-up, causing jaundice.
Through the new virtual ward, families can avoid a hospital stay during a really precious time with their newborn baby. Since it opened in November 2025, 18 families have already benefitted from the service, including Shannon Bilson who was one of the first parents to use phototherapy at home.
Shannon's daughter Ivy, who was born on 13 February 2026, had jaundice and she used the at home kit. She said the equipment was really easy to use and she felt 'reassured' that she could give her baby the support she needed, from the comfort of their home.
She even affectionately named the equipment the 'glow-worm' as the light therapy creates a glow when wrapped around the baby. Shannon said: "When my first daughter Macie was born, she also had jaundice so I knew the symptoms. The midwife came out to weigh Ivy and did the foot prick test but she couldn’t get a reading so we had to get her checked out in the hospital.
"The doctors explained that we could use the phototherapy at home if we felt able to. They showed us how to use the monitor, talked us through everything and it was explained really well.
"I know it might be daunting for some parents, but it was explained clearly, and it felt good to be able to give her the care ourselves rather than feeling helpless watching doctors do it in hospital. I wanted to hold my baby.
"We did a trial setting it up and it was really simple. If I had the choice of doing the phototherapy in the hospital or at home, I would 100% say at home, it was so easy, and the care we received was great, we felt really supported through it all."
The service is a safe way of keeping families together in their own home, with 24/7 access to the virtual ward team, and daily home visits to monitor their baby's progress.
Angela Burden, Lead Neonatal Advanced Clinical Practitioner, said: "The beauty of the virtual ward and reason it is so effective is because there is a shared goal to keep babies and families together at the heart of it. We want to ensure that the baby receives the appropriate treatment and that parents feel informed, empowered, and confident in their decision to manage phototherapy at home. The equipment is straightforward to use and support is available at all times which supports consistent care and is reflected in the positive feedback we have had so far."
Since the service was introduced, babies that have required phototherapy have been under the care of the team for around two - four days, from attending the clinic to being discharged which is the same timeframe for those receiving inpatient care, the only difference being that the care is delivered at home instead of in hospital.
If a baby is referred to the Neonatal Virtual Ward team, they attend the jaundice clinic at Royal Derby Hospital on the Maternity Ward. Our Neonatal Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACPs) and home care team assess all babies with suspected jaundice, and where it is safe to do so, provide training and support for families who meet the criteria for at-home phototherapy.
Kirstie Daniel, Neonatal Homecare Senior Sister, said: "The last thing you want is to be spending additional time in the hospital with your newborn. The trauma of waiting around and worrying can affect breastfeeding, be painful post-surgery and there is a risk that you are exposing a baby who is otherwise well, to viruses and other unwell children.
"We will only offer the service if it is appropriate, and the majority of the parents have been keen to be involved as it means they don’t have to spend any additional time in hospital."
In recognition of the teams' dedication to improving care and experience for our youngest patients, the Neonatal Virtual Ward team recently won one of the Trusts Making a Difference Award which was presented by Mark Hill, Deputy Chief Nurse.