Neonatal care

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) could be a risk factor for the development of preterm neonates due to the stressful procedures they undergo. Stress-related behaviors must be managed through environmental strategies that support regulating the neonates' biobehavioural system to minimize the negative impact on their development. The study aimed to compare the NICU environment's stressful procedures and developmental care strategies and the stress and self-regulation behaviors of preterm neonates in groups differentiated by the NICU environmental design...

BACKGROUND: Parents of preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environment may experience psychological distress, decreased perceived self-efficacy, and/or difficulties in establishing an adaptive parent-infant relationship. Early developmental care interventions to support the parental role and infant development are essential and their impact can be assessed by an improvement of parental self-efficacy perception. The aims were to assess the effects of an early intervention provided in the NICU (the Joint Observation) on maternal perceived self-efficacy compared to controls (primary outcome) and to compare maternal mental health measures (perceived stress, anxiety, and depression), perception of the parent-infant relationship, and maternal responsiveness (secondary outcomes)...

A retrospective study of 24 neonates to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) for transferring critically ill neonates to tertiary neonatal intensive care, who were transported by road ambulance was done. Efficacy was measured by clinical improvement, patient safety was assessed by comparing cardiorespiratory indicators before and after transport, and adverse events during transport. Significant oxygenation improvement was observed in neonates transported with HFOV ± iNO compared to earlier ventilator settings...

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the world's leading cause of viral acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in infants. WHO has identified maternal RSV vaccination a priority and candidate vaccines are in development; however, vaccine hesitancy remains an impediment to successful implementation of maternal immunization. This study, the largest antenatal survey conducted to-date, aimed to examine maternal RSV awareness, likely acceptance of RSV vaccination in pregnancy, and attitudes to maternal vaccination...

BACKGROUND: Pacific Islander (PI) women in Australia have an increased risk of gestational diabetes (GDM); however, their perinatal outcomes are poorly understood. AIM: The aim was to determine the maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes of PI women with and without GDM compared to Australian/European (AE)-born women. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of perinatal outcomes of singleton deliveries >20 weeks' gestation between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2020 was conducted at a tertiary provider (Melbourne, Australia)...

BACKGROUND: Evidence supports a restrictive platelet transfusion threshold in preterm neonates. We aimed to describe the effect of implementing this threshold on transfusion rates. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective observational cohort study included all very preterm infants (born <32 weeks' gestation) admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit between 2004 and 2022, divided into three epochs. Platelet transfusion thresholds changed from 30 × 109 /L for stable neonates and 50 × 109 /L for unstable neonates (January 2004 to December 2009) to 20 × 109 /L for stable neonates and 50 × 109 /L for unstable neonates (January 2010 to June 2019) to 25 × 109 /L for non-bleeding neonates and 50 × 109 /L for neonates with major bleeding (July 2019 to July 2022)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background and aim Oral iron therapy is effective in treating iron deficiency anemia in outpatient pregnant women but has not been studied in inpatient pregnant women. We aimed to evaluate the effect of oral iron therapy versus no therapy during hospitalization on maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with anemia who are hospitalized for pregnancy-related morbidities (i.e., preterm premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, pre-eclampsia, abnormal placentation, or fetal monitoring). Methods A retrospective, single-center study was conducted in hospitalized pregnant women (2018 to 2020) with inpatient stays of more than three days...

Neonatal hypotonia presents with low muscle tone and an array of symptoms that vary depending on the etiology. The differential diagnosis for this condition is complex. It is crucial to exclude life-threatening causes before following a diagnostic algorithm and performing additional tests. Given the wide range of clinical symptoms and etiologies for neonatal hypotonia, rapid genetic testing has the potential to expedite diagnosis, reduce invasive testing such as muscle biopsy, reduce hospital stays, and guide condition management...

OBJECTIVE: A single centre experience with chylothorax in post cardiac surgical patients. METHODS: Retrospective review. RESULTS: Chylothorax developed in 55 out of 873 operated patients (6.3%). Median age of the chylothorax cohort was 95 days (range 1-995). Neonates constituted 36% and 49% were infants. Group-1(35 patients-treated during the years 2011-2015) included those who were managed with low fat diet initially with other standard measures including steroid, octreotide, pleurodesis, lymphangiogram or thoracic duct ligation whenever required...

INTRODUCTION: People with unintended pregnancies might be at increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes due to structural factors, distress, or delayed prenatal care. Existing studies addressing this association yielded inconsistent findings. Using contemporary data from a large Dutch midwifery care registry, we investigated the association between unintended pregnancy ending in birth and neonatal outcomes, parental morbidity, and obstetric interventions. We extend previous research by exploring whether delayed initiation of prenatal care mediates these associations...

Studies of intervention programs that aim to improve the emotional state of parents of children admitted to the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are scarce in Spain. The aims of this single-arm pilot study are to get to know the emotional profile of parents of high-risk preterm newborns, and to explore parents' patterns of emotional well-being before and after a psychological program called the Parental Empowerment Program, to increase parental readiness levels. The sample was made up of 100 parents (50 couples) who participated in the program...

BACKGROUND: Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) remains a leading cause of infant mortality; therefore, understanding parental practices of infant sleep at home is essential. Since social media analyses yield invaluable patient perspectives, understanding sleep practices in the context of safe sleep recommendations via a Facebook mothers' group is instrumental for policy makers, health care providers, and researchers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify photos shared by mothers discussing SUID and safe sleep online and assess their consistency with infant sleep guidelines per the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)...

BACKGROUND: Parent and infant separation in the neonatal unit is associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-integrated care has several advantages and the potential to reduce these adverse outcomes but requires parental presence. This study aimed to explore the views of parents and neonatal healthcare professionals (nHCPs) on barriers and facilitators to parental presence in a Swiss neonatal unit and to identify possible differences between nHCPs and parents, and between mothers and fathers...

BACKGROUND: Infant mortality rates are reliable indices of the child and general population health status and health care delivery. The most critical factors affecting infant mortality are socioeconomic status and ethnicity. The aim of this study was to assess the association between socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnicity, and perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality in Slovakia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The associations between socioeconomic disadvantage (educational level, long-term unemployment rate), ethnicity (the proportion of the Roma population) and mortality (perinatal, neonatal, and infant) in the period 2017-2022 were explored, using linear regression models...

Interdisciplinary fetal neonatal neurology (FNN) training requires integration of reproductive health factors into evaluations of the maternal-placental-fetal (MPF) triad, neonate, and child over the first 1000 days. Serial events that occur before one or multiple pregnancies impact successive generations. A maternal-child dyad history highlights this continuity of health risk, beginning with a maternal grandmother's pregnancy. Her daughter was born preterm and later experienced polycystic ovarian syndrome further complicated by cognitive and mental health disorders...

OBJECTIVES: Among many risk factors for preeclampsia (PE), prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) is one of few controllable factors. However, there is a lack of stratified analysis based on the prepregnancy BMI. This study aimed to determine the influencing factors for PE and assess the impact of PE on obstetric outcomes in twin pregnancies by prepregnancy BMI. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2022, in Southwest China...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

INTRODUCTION: Various approaches are employed to expedite the passage of meconium in preterm infants within the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with glycerine enemas being the most frequently used. Due to the potential risk of high osmolality-induced harm to the intestinal mucosa, diluted glycerine enema solutions are commonly used in clinical practice. The challenge lies in the current lack of knowledge regarding the safest and most effective concentration of glycerine enema. This research aims to ascertain the safety of different concentrations of glycerine enema solution in preterm infants...

INTRODUCTION: Prematurity presents a significant challenge to the global community due to the rapid increase in its incidence and its disproportionate contribution to increased infant mortality rates. OBJECTIVE: To assess the survival status and predictors of mortality among preterm neonates. DESIGN: A multicentre prospective follow-up study was used. SETTING: 625 preterm neonates were admitted to hospitals for secondary level of care...