Neonatal intensive care units are normally considered a safe place for a newborn, but there are cases where the newborn develops an infection in their fragile body. This article looks at the ways in which they could develop infections that would be detrimental to them. The ANA states that "individuals who become nurses must embrace the ideals and moral standards of the profession and view them as part of what it means to be a nurse." (Code of Ethics, nd). German NICUs participated in a study of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants from 2006 to 2011 and found that an outbreak of serious neonatal infection occurred during a period in the same center in four different patients (Schwab, 2014). A total of 228 NICUs provided data over the six-year period. A total of 37,038 VLBW infants and 7,405 serious neonatal infections were recorded. Most outbreaks were due to Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Enterococcus spp and Enterobacter spp” (Schwab, 2014). “Neonatal sepsis can be classified as early or late. Among newborns with early sepsis, 85% present within 24 hours, 5% present between 24 and 48 hours” (Anderson-Berry, 2014). In the early stages, neonatal sepsis spreads through the mother. The infection spreads transplacentally or through infection of the cervix. The newborn passes through the birth canal and picks up the microorganism during delivery (Anderson-Berry, 2014). Delayed onset is what interests me the most, it occurs four to ninety days after a "care" environment, where the NICU comes into play (Anderson-Berry, 2014). The newborn outside the uterus, the skin, respiratory tract, conjunctiva, digestive tract and umbilicus are colonized and invasive microorganisms can find their way into the body (Ande.... .. middle of paper ......derson-Berry, A. (February 11, 2014). Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/978352-OverviewCode of Ethics of the. National Association of Neonatal Nurses. Retrieved March 18, 2014 from http://www.nann.org/about/content/ethics.html Oliveira, KC (2012). : an integrative nursing care journal, 6(11), 2808. Accessed March 15, 2014 from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/83777621/neonatal-infection-relationship-nursing-care-integrative-. reviewSchwab, FF, Geffers, C, C., Piening, B, B., Haller, SS, Eckmans, TT and Gastmeier, PP (2014). German neonatal care?, 42(1), 73-78.doi:10.1007/s15010-013-0516-x