It is important that you as parents are informed about the possible risks of any course of treatment for your baby and that you are able to discuss and properly assess the clinical options presented to you. So with this in mind, I wanted to share with you some information that doctors and nurses have been warned to take care when giving babies antibiotics (normally gentamicin) after the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued new guidance after 507 reports of harm or potential harm to babies caused by staff errors in the 12 months to March.

Of the reports, 483 resulted in no or low harm to the baby, while 23 resulted in moderate harm.

Gentamicin needs to be given at certain times of the day to ensure it is effective and blood levels should be monitored to check the concentration of the medicine in the body.

The new NPSA guidance, which relates to England and Wales, says all hospitals must have a protocol on the exact dosage for gentamicin and rules on monitoring blood.

Now, obviously me giving this information is not at all to put you off your baby being giving gentamicin, as it is a highly effective antibiotic that is widely used for the treatment of neonatal infection, and of course this is from a very small sample with very few babies having any ill effects. However it is worth bearing in mind the above information so you can discuss with the doctor if you have any concerns.