neonatal

adjective

neo·​na·​tal ˌnē-ō-ˈnā-tᵊl 

: of, relating to, or affecting the newborn and especially the human infant during the first month after birth

neonatal mortality

neonatal intensive care unit

neonatally

ˌnē-ō-ˈnā-tᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of neonatal in a Sentence

a neonatal intensive care unit

Recent Examples on the Web

Of those cases, just 12 viable infants were born and survived the neonatal period, which is the first 28 days of life. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 19 June 2025

Now, local media reports the baby, a boy named Chance, was born prematurely via C-section on June 13 and is in the neonatal intensive care unit. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 19 June 2025

In a June 12th update, Kevin shared that their son Jackson had left the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and was home resting with his sister Emma, 3. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 16 June 2025

The violations were found across 26 different units, including 32 specifically within the neonatal intensive care unit, according to NYSNA. —Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin neonatus neonate + -al entry 1

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for neonatal

• hiatal
• nonfatal
• postnatal
• prenatal
• antenatal
• perinatal
• datal
• fatal

Medical Definition

neonatal

adjective

neo·​na·​tal ˌnē-ō-ˈnāt-ᵊl 

: of, relating to, or affecting the newborn and especially the human infant during the first month after birth

neonatal jaundice

neonatal death

compare prenatal, intranatal, postnatal

neonatally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb