At least three premature babies are being transferred between hospitals every day because of severe shortages of beds and nurses, research published today reveals.

The babies are being transported an average of 126 miles, causing distress to their parents and risking their health, according to an annual audit of all neonatal care in England conducted for the premature-baby charity Bliss. It details a deepening crisis in neonatal care.

Journeys of 200 or 250 miles are not infrequent, and one baby was sent to a hospital 286 miles away in the most extreme example in the last year.

The audit shows that half of units are being forced to accept babies they are not equipped for, and that only 3% of units provide the recommended standard of one nurse to one baby in intensive care.

The research, carried out by the national perinatal and epidemiology unit at Oxford University, reveals that more than 2,100 babies were transferred in the last year. That is in marked contrast to the maximum 850 limit set by the Department of Health's own guidelines, which stipulate that 95% of all premature babies should be cared for within the same "network" of hospitals.

There are 22 networks in England, each consisting of about five hospitals clustered around a major neonatal unit and within about 40 miles of each other. Transfers often occur within these if one hospital does not have the right level of neonatal care. But the audit, completed by all 22 networks, does not include these. The three daily transfers are from one network to another.

The report, Weigh Less, Worth Less?, also shows that the vast majority of these journeys - 93% - occur because of shortages of specialist staff or cots. The cot shortage is so extreme that more than 90% of intensive care units - the most specialised units for babies less than 28 weeks old or on ventilators - have had to turn away babies in the last six months, in contrast to 80% the previous year.

Special care baby units - for older babies or those who do not need ventilation - are also having to close their doors to admissions, with 78% rejecting babies, compared with 72% in 2004.

With the bed shortage so extreme, half of all special care units are being forced to accept intensive care babies despite lacking the expertise to care for such vulnerable infants. Special care units also have far lower ratios of nurses to babies, but even among intensive care units only 3% are operating at the ratio of one nurse to one baby - recommended, but not demanded, by the Department of Health.

Rob Williams, chief executive of Bliss, said one nurse to two babies was the best ratio parents could expect at present, but sometimes nurses had to look after three at any one time. This was in marked contrast to the one to one care intensive care provided for adults. "There is a real double standard about how intensive care is provided to adults and babies. If you are an adult in intensive care you have a nurse at the end of your bed, but if you're a baby you receive a much lower standard of care."

He added that there was anecdotal evidence that babies were dying after being transferred. "A baby on ventilation and struggling to breathe needs rest. The whole process of being transferred is going to present them with enormous stresses. Common sense says you really ought to be trying to leave the baby where it is."

He said the crisis had occurred because the number of premature babies was rising - to 17,000 a year - fuelled by the rise in older mothers and multiple births caused by IVF treatment. But at the same time, neonatal units have been inadequately resourced.

The Department of Health announced an extra £70m three years ago, but that was not ringfenced and only 34% went on improving services.

A DH spokesperson said babies were transferred between hospitals in a network because a quarter of neonatal intensive care cots were empty at any given time. "These networks provide as much of this care locally as is possible, but there will always be occasions when transfer to a more specialist unit outside the home network may offer better outcomes."