Other content tagged: news research
Family Rooms in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Neonatal Outcomes.
Research shows important benefits of parental involvement in neonatal intensive care. Parents spending time with their newborns and especially their engagement in skin-to-skin contact has positive impacts on cognitive development of infants and lowers morbidity and mortality rates. To increase the time families spend with their preterm born babies in NICUs, some hospitals provide infant-parent rooms to allow parents to stay with their child 24 hours a day. To assess the availability and benefits of…
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Skin-to-skin contact between fathers and newborns improves their physiological parameters and wakefulness.
The common practice of separating infants from their parents after a caesarean section was put into question after a study showed that the skin-to-skin contact between the fathers and the newborn infants had significant advantages in achieving their stable physiological parameters and wakefulness. Motivated by the known benefits of an early mother-infant skin-to-skin contact, a randomised controlled study was conducted to determine if this could also be the case with fathers. The goal was…
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Preterm care during COVID-19 and the survival benefit of kangaroo mother care
Given the disruption of neonatal health services through the COVID-19 pandemic, a two-scenarios-analysis was conducted to weigh the risk of not implementing kangaroo mother care (KMC) among neonates with neonatal deaths from COVID-19. The undeniable survival benefit of KMC far outweighs the small risk of death due to the virus and encourage its practice. There are conflicting global guidelines on mother-newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding kangaroo mother care…
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Vaccines during pregnancy protect mother and baby from infectious diseases
A selective literature survey by Röbl-Mathieu et al. discusses how vaccines can prevent infectious diseases in pregnant women as well as in unborn and newborn babies. The authors conclude that vaccines are a central element in ante- and postnatal care since they protect the pregnant woman as well as her baby both before and after birth from infectious diseases. To illustrate their argument, Röbl-Mathieu et al. refer to the current vaccination guidelines for tetanus, influenza, pertussis, and hepatitis B for…
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Paediatric clinical trials: industry and non-industry bringing different strengths together
Clinical trials are an essential part of advancing knowledge and improving healthcare worldwide. Advances in paediatric research across the globe to improve the lives of babies, children and young people have dramatically reduced rates in morbidity and mortality and increased the quality of life, for example, reducing sudden infant death, increasing the life expectancy for children with thalassemia, cystic fibrosis etc. Clinical trials within the paediatric population can be conducted as…
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Pre-pregnancy overweight as a risk factor for postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 10 to 15% of women after giving birth worldwide. PPD is a depressive disorder characterised by fear of failure, emotional ambivalence, and major depressive symptoms which can ultimately impact maternal caregiving and lead to a disturbed mother-to-infant relationship. This in turn can influence the newborn’s long-term development. Thus, identification of underlying risk factors is important. The aetiology of PPD is still not completely understood. Therefore, several studies endeavoured to shed…
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Visual function in preterm infants: Can early interventions help to improve visual function?
The environment and the procedures at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be stressful for preterm infants. Thus, brain development might be decelerated, increasing the possibility for visual impairments. However, the clinical trial by Italian researchers has shown that early interventions by parents can have a positive effect on visual functions. Previous research suggests that multisensory stimulation, especially infant massages, can help with brain development and visual maturation in preterm infants. The randomized…
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Disparities in the follow-up of very preterm born children in Europe
With a letter issued in February 2021, a group of researchers presented an analysis of the cross-European disparities of routine follow-up services of children who were born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestational age (GA)). It was found that the mother’s sociodemographic characteristics and her perinatal situation were among the main factors regarding these disparities. Aiming to describe the use of follow-up services in Europe, the research team collected data from obstetric and neonatal records…
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Improving thermoregulation in transported preterm infants
Infants born preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) or with a low birthweight (<2.5 kg) are at high risk for decreasing body temperature during transportation to the hospital. Hypothermia in preterm infants is a risk factor for increased mortality and morbidity (e.g. respiratory distress syndrome). Therefore, effective thermoregulation during transport is of outmost importance. In the study by Glenn et al., interventions were developed to increase the efficacy of thermoregulation in transported…
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What matters to women in the postnatal period?
The postnatal period is an important adjustment period for women, which lasts from after delivery until up to six weeks after birth. During this phase women receive immediate clinical care and community support to ensure the health of mother and child by providing support for breastfeeding practices, monitoring the infants’ development and counselling. Yet, maternity care is often insufficient and differs across countries. To ensure that women receive the best care, a study identified…
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