Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is a machine that helps someone breathe when their lungs are struggling or they are working too hard to breathe. A mask is worn over their face, and the machine gently pushes air into their lungs, making breathing easier.
The mask does not breathe completely for you, but it takes a lot of the hard work away.
Starting non-invasive ventilation
If your doctors feel that you may benefit from extra support with your breathing, they will refer you to the NIV team. The NIV nurses will arrange a sleep study, which helps the doctors assess your breathing while you sleep and decide whether additional support is needed.
The sleep study can usually be carried out either at home or in hospital. During the test, a monitor will measure your oxygen levels and/or the carbon dioxide levels in your blood while you sleep. The results will be reviewed by the medical team, who will discuss with you whether NIV would be beneficial.
If NIV is recommended, you will usually be admitted to hospital to start treatment. This allows us to make sure that the therapy is working well for you and to adjust the machine settings to suit your needs. Most people stay in hospital for a few days, although occasionally a longer stay is needed.
Before you go home, a repeat sleep study will be carried out to check that the NIV settings are correct and that the treatment is providing the support you need.
Two parents or carers will be trained before discharge on how to use the machine, how to help put the mask on and how to sort any troubleshooting. This will be done by the paediatric respiratory nurses and be completed over at least two sessions. Extra sessions will be provided if required.
Types of non-invasive ventilation
Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP)
BiPAP is a type of breathing support that helps make breathing easier, especially when your breathing muscles are having to work harder than normal.
BiPAP provides two different levels of pressure:
- a higher pressure when you breathe in, which helps you take a bigger, easier breath
- a lower pressure when you breathe out, making it more comfortable to breathe out naturally
BiPAP does not breathe for you, but it reduces the effort needed to breathe. This can improve oxygen levels, help remove carbon dioxide from the body, and give your breathing muscles a chance to rest.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
CPAP is a treatment that helps you breathe normally while you sleep. It is often used to treat obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a condition where the airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep.
By keeping your airway open, CPAP can:
- reduce or stop pauses in breathing during sleep
- reduce snoring
- improve the quality of your sleep
- help you feel more awake and alert during the day
- reduce symptoms such as morning headaches and daytime tiredness
Using your CPAP machine every night will help you get the greatest benefit from the treatment.
Going home with non-invasive ventilation
After you go home, you will receive a message from one of the paediatric respiratory nurses after your first night to check in. If you have had any issues, please let them know.
You will have a repeat sleep study within three months which can be done either at home or in the hospital, this way we can monitor you and make sure the settings are still right for you.
Once that is done, you will have sleep studies at least every year unless something is not working but that will be decided by the doctors and nurses.
Contact us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Paediatric Respiratory Nurses.
Last reviewed: 14 July 2026