This article presents the importance of multidisciplinary, family-centered care, and a developmental bio-psycho-social approach to treating feeding difficulties in a child with a complex medical history. Hannah spent the first 9 months of her life in the hospital and was discharged dependent on nasogastric tube feeding. Her journey to recovery…

Substance use and alcohol abuse during pregnancy are significant public health concerns. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a withdrawal syndrome that infants exposed to opioids may experience in the first few days of life. For most infants with NAS, exposure to opioids occurs during pregnancy while they are fetuses. Similarly, prenatal alcohol…

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) endorses the development of national guidelines for the identification and eligibility for Part C, states early intervention (EI) system for children born low birth weight (LBW) and/or preterm in the United States. Children born early typically spend their first…

Few interventions and treatments for premature infants have undergone the rigors of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the cornerstone of evidence-based healthcare. Multiple barriers in establishing a quality evidence base for the care of preterm infants are examined including the systematic exclusion of children from drug trials, vulnerability…

Extremely premature infants face multiple acute and chronic life-threatening conditions. In addition, the treatments to ameliorate or cure these conditions often entail pain and discomfort. Integrating palliative care from the moment that extremely premature labor is diagnosed offers families and clinicians support through the process of defining…

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and a major public health concern. Risk factors for preterm birth include a history of preterm birth, short cervix, infection, short interpregnancy interval, smoking, and African-American race. The use of progesterone therapy to treat mothers at risk for preterm delivery is becoming more…

This study examined the development of maternal roles in seven mothers of medically fragile, premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of an urban, teaching hospital using data sources such as interviews, observations, and document review. Mothers gradually assumed caregiving roles of worrier, novice, learner and expert and…

Infants who are born prematurely may experience developmental delays and impairments during infancy and beyond. Those who are born at extremely low birthweight face the greatest challenges. Many families could benefit from early intervention services through their local Part C of Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, but…

An educational program developed to prepare health professionals in a neonatal intensive care unit to initiate family-focused developmental care (FFDC) is described. The program was designed to support families with preterm infants. Findings suggest that the program was cost-efficient, prepared nurses to efficiently initiate FFDC, and improved…

Describes an innovative interdisciplinary program for hospital care and followup of premature infants at the University of Florida involving psychologists, counselors, and educators. Notes this growing population of surviving neonates has a high risk of developmental disability, which can be reduced by developmental intervention. (Author)

A hospital-based transitional care medical program for infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit is described. Family involvement is emphasized, as is interdisciplinary teamwork. Concerns that the program would encourage unnecessary hospitalization and increase vulnerability to infection have been proven unjustified. (Author/DB)

A brief history is provided of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a treatment option for infants that provides prolonged circulation and reoxgenation of blood outside the body to temporarily support a failing heart or lungs. The University of Kentucky ECMO program is described, along with the positive outcomes of 19 infants. (Contains…

There is a growing body of evidence that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) victims are not completely normal and healthy, as was once believed. A variety of new information from several disciplines strongly suggests that the infant who dies suddenly and unexpectedly may do so because of subtle developmental, neurologic, cardiorespiratory, and…

Statistics show that the improvement in the U.S. infant mortality rate began slowing down in 1981 and completely ended in 1985; this has been reflected in a significant increase in the percentage of infants born prematurely and with low birth weight. Increased attention is being given to the effects of maternal behavior during pregnancy, and…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the NICU Follow-Through Project, a 3-year project designed to help hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and community developmental centers serving infants with disabilities or very low birth weights (VLBW) replicate the project's innovative and successful training components.…