Hospital infections represent a wide-ranging public health issue and can be defined as those that occur within 48 hours of admission in the hospital, three days after discharge, or thirty days after surgery. In infants, infections exhibit features that greatly complicate clinical diagnosis and treatment. Between 20% and 70% autopsied newborn children show signs of infection – thus the infection can be considered the second most common cause of infant mortality, and therefore a common cause of morbidity. Symptoms of infection are often scarce, non-specific, and can affect multiple organ systems at once, with a plethora of potential causative agents. The most common infections in infants are neonatal sepsis, neonatal meningitis, and neonatal pneumonia. Both hospital staff and hospital environment are implicated in the infection transmission cycle; however, the most common route of transmission are the hands of hospital staff. In order to significantly reduce hospital infections, proper risk factor control and infection control measures should be implemented. The nursing staff working in areas designated to treat the smallest and most vulnerable patients must be specially trained and must comprehend the importance of preventing the emergence and transmission of hospital infections. Moreover, they must have specialist knowledge of general and specialized nursing practices, as well as an understanding of the functioning of hospital clinical areas, operating areas and support services. In addition to critically appraising the results of their work, the healthcare team must critically evaluate their quotidian working habits, change strategies that have proven ineffective, implement changes to practice, continually evaluate their work, as well as adequately record rates of newborn hospital infections.