neonatal

American  

[nee-oh-neyt-l] / ˌni oʊˈneɪt l /

adjective

1. of or relating to newborn children.

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neonatal British  

/ ˌniːəʊˈneɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to newborn children, esp in the first week of life and up to four weeks old

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Usage

What does neonatal mean? Neonatal is an adjective used to describe things related to newborn babies and their care. Neonatal is a technical term used in the context of medicine and healthcare. You’re most likely to see it used in terms like neonatal unit, neonatal care, and neonatal nurse, and in the names of certain medical conditions that affect newborns. Its noun form, neonate, is another word for a newborn. Example: My sister is a neonatal nurse who specializes in caring for newborns with certain health problems.

Other Word Forms

• neonatally adverb
• postneonatal adjective

Etymology

Origin of neonatal

First recorded in 1900–05; neo- + natal

Explanation

Neonatal describes the first month of a person's life. The neonatal period is that first month after a baby is born. There are also neonatal disorders that require neonatal care. Like many babies, the word neonatal's parents are from different places — neo comes from Greek and means “new,” and natal comes from the Latin word natus which means “to be born.” Neonatal means newborn. The neonatal stage is the first month of life, when a baby is tiniest and most fragile. Babies born at a hospital who can’t come home right away sometimes stay in a neonatal intensive care unit, where neonatal nurses care for them.

Example Sentences

Compared to pregnancies in adulthood, adolescent pregnancies have been associated with higher rates of low birth weight, preterm birth, and early neonatal mortality among infants.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

The baby was estimated to be "full term neonatal" having had 38 to 40 weeks of development, the coroner heard, although it was "not possible to determine if he was stillborn".

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

The woman was 7 months pregnant with the family’s third child, a girl, who died in a neonatal intensive care unit.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

For three months, she spent each day in the neonatal intensive care unit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

It has been a difficult month: a rotation in neonatal intensive care.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver