Against a background of improved neonatal survival, Valerie McGurk makes the case for eye examination being standard practice throughout all neonatal units

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a rare condition that affects the immature blood vessels in the retina, the inner lining of the inner wall of the eye. During development, the retinal blood vessels grow from the back of the eye outwards towards the edges. Beginning at 22 days post conception (Roberts 1985) it is destined to occur in the ‘warm, stable and hypoxic environment of amniotic fluid’ (Flynn 1992, p161). In a term baby this process is completed a few weeks before delivery, but in babies born prematurely the process is incomplete.