The Incubator

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In this episode, Leah Jayanetti speaks with Keira Sorrells, founder of the NICU Parent Network, about her personal journey through the NICU experience with her triplets and the advocacy work she has undertaken to support NICU families. They discuss the importance of family-centered care, the NICU Babies Bill of Rights, and the emotional challenges faced by parents in the NICU. Kira shares her insights on healing through storytelling and the need for self-care among NICU leaders, emphasizing that hope is an expression of love, regardless of the outcomes.

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In this episode of NeoNews, the team returns from a brief hiatus with a refreshed format and a packed review of neonatal stories dominating recent headlines. Eli, Ben, and Daphna open with updates on RSV prevention, highlighting new MMWR data showing significant gaps in nirsevimab and maternal vaccine uptake—despite strong evidence and renewed availability. They discuss how supply chain issues, insurance delays, and vaccine confusion continue to limit access, and they emphasize the unique role neonatologists can play in counseling families early and often. The hosts also review concerning national trends in co...

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In this episode, Dr. Sidney Zven shares his unique journey from a civil engineering career to becoming a neonatology fellow at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. He discusses his experiences with food insecurity among military families, particularly focusing on WIC enrollment challenges and the impact of stigma and misinformation. Dr. Zven highlights his mentorship experience while working on a grant to address these issues and the importance of engaging stakeholders in community health initiatives. He also provides insights into his neonatology fellowship training and his aspirations for the future in military medicine.

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In this episode of At the Bench, Misty Good and David McCulley interview Dr. Bernard Thébaud, a neonatologist and leader in lung and pulmonary vascular developmental biology and regenerative medicine. The conversation explores Dr. Thebaud’s journey into research, the importance of mentorship, and the challenges of translating research into clinical practice. They discuss the significance of recognizing opportunities, navigating critical feedback, and the promising mechanisms in regenerative medicine that could enhance lung repair in preterm infants. Dr. Thébaud discusses the innovative use of mesenchymal stromal cells in lung therapy for neon...

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In the final episode of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben speaks with Steve Falk, Chief Engineer of the Maternal Infant Care Strategic Business Unit at GE Healthcare. With more than three decades of engineering leadership, Steve has been instrumental in the development of landmark neonatal technologies, including the Giraffe Omnibed and Panda platforms.

This conversation highlights the critical role of engineering in making phototherapy precise, reliable, and safe. Steve explains how advances in LED technology have transformed phototherapy devices, ensuring consistent irradiance and long product life. He describes how engineers translate...

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What happens when we challenge our long-standing assumptions about phototherapy in the NICU? In this special installment of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Deepak Manhas to examine one of the most complex questions: how should we manage hyperbilirubinemia in preterm infants?

Unlike term babies, preemies face unique risks—shorter red blood cell lifespan, immature bilirubin conjugation, lower albumin binding, and increased blood-brain barrier permeability—all of which make them more vulnerable to bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction. This conversation explores why traditional guidelines cannot simply be applied to p...

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In the second installment of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben and Daphna welcome Dr. Daniel Rauch, Professor of Pediatrics at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Division Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and General Academic Pediatrics at Joseph Sanzari Children’s Hospital. Dr. Rauch co-authored the AAP technical report on phototherapy and brings a unique perspective on how light therapy should be understood and applied in clinical practice.

This conversation reframes phototherapy as a true pharmacotherapy—an intervention that must be delivered in precise doses with attention to wavelength, irradiance, body...

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In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Alex Kemper, Division Chief of Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Editor-in-Chief of Pediatrics. Dr. Kemper served as chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics subcommittee that authored the 2022 revision of the neonatal hyperbilirubinemia guidelines.

Together, they explore the motivations behind revisiting the 2004 guideline, the major changes introduced, and how these revisions are shaping clinical care. Dr. Kemper explains why treatment thresholds for phototherapy were raised, the careful balance between avoiding unnecessary interventions and pr...

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In this discussion, Dr. Hevil Shah (Cook Children’s Hospital) and Dr. Julie Lindower (UI Children’s) highlight the work of the CHNC Focus Group on Extremely Preterm Infants, centered on babies born between 21–23 weeks’ gestation. They share insights from a workshop on precision care, emphasizing lessons from Iowa’s long-term data showing improved survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The conversation explores variability in resuscitation and counseling practices across centers, and the importance of unified messaging among care teams. The group’s next steps include publishing survey results and strengthening collaborations—particularly with the nutrition focu...

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In this keynote discussion, Dr. Natasha Henner (Lurie Children’s Hospital) examines how evolving reproductive policies are reshaping neonatal practice, from counseling at the limits of viability to supporting families after restrictive abortion laws. She discusses rising NICU admissions for infants with congenital differences, ethical tensions around “life-limiting” diagnoses, and gaps in perinatal hospice and home care resources. Dr. Henner emphasizes the need for shared frameworks among neonatologists, obstetricians, and palliative care teams, as well as simulation-based training to navigate moral distress and complex communication. Her call to action: welcome these difficult conversations to imp...

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In this keynote conversation, Dr. Amy Baughcum, PhD (Nationwide Children’s), Dr. Elizabeth Fischer, PhD (Children’s Wisconsin), and Dr. Lamia Soghier, MD, MeD, MBA (Children’s National) discuss building comprehensive perinatal mental health support systems that span from prenatal diagnosis to life after NICU discharge. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Joanna Cole’s fetal psychology model at CHOP, they emphasize early screening, interdisciplinary collaboration, and embedding psychologists or social workers within NICU teams. The speakers highlight strategies to normalize emotional distress, empower families to seek help, and align institutional priorities with psychosocial care. Their sh...

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This episode addresses NICU staff mental health with Dr. Chavis Patterson, PhD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). He reviews common problems—toxic stress, compassion fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbance—and practical mitigation strategies: brief micro-practices (five-minute arrival/departure routines), peer debriefs (e.g., “pink flags”), unit multidisciplinary check-ins, and institutional resources such as employee assistance programs and embedded NICU psychologists. Patterson stresses normalizing emotional responses, reducing stigma around seeking psychotherapy, and building structural supports by advocating for funded on-unit psychology positions. Immediate actions: start regular team debriefs, map local mental-health resources, pilot embedded psychology coverage...

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This keynote episode features Dr. Jennifer Sucre (Vanderbilt University Medical Center), whose research bridges bedside observation and molecular biology to uncover why some preterm infants develop severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) while others recover. Through innovative live imaging of lung development and mouse and human tissue models, her lab discovered that capillary “guidance” signals—semaphorins—are crucial for lung repair and resilience. Loss of these pathways marks irreversible injury. Dr. Sucre emphasizes “bedside-to-bench” science, finding lessons from resilient infants to inform therapy. Clinically, she urges providers to recognize individual resilience, foster hopeful communication with families, an...

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This episode features Dr. Sofia Isabel Perazzo (Children’s National Hospital) and Dr. Rakesh Rao (St. Louis Children’s Hospital) discussing a CHNC Explore analysis of intestinal stricture formation following surgical necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Using 15 years of CHND data, they examined over 2,400 surgical NEC cases, finding an overall stricture incidence of about 31%, with striking inter-center variability (24–38%). Lower gestational age, stoma creation, and combined drainage-laparotomy increased risk, while peritoneal drainage was protective. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with lower risk. Although their predictive model (AUC 0.67) was modest, the findings offer valuable benchmarks for parent counseling, qualit...

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This episode features Dr. Giulia Lima (Boston Children’s Hospital), a CHNC Mentored Fellow, discussing risk factors for morbidity and mortality among preterm infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) using data from over 11,000 NICU admissions. Surprisingly, older gestational age did not predict improved survival once infants survived beyond three days. Major mortality predictors included surgical NEC, bloodstream infection, trisomy 21, airway anomalies, and compromised systemic output lesions. Multiple gestation appeared protective, though reasons remain unclear. Dr. Lima highlights the importance of standardized prenatal steroids, care coordination, and exploring socioeconomic and ethnic disparities to improve ou...

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In this episode Dr. Murali Premkumar (Texas Children’s) presents an Explore/CHNC analysis of stricture formation after surgical NEC using 2010–2024 CHND data (2,411 surgical NEC infants). Overall CHNC stricture incidence ≈31% with marked inter-center variability (adjusted center rates ~24–38%). Multivariable analysis identified lower gestational age and stoma/laparotomy as associated with higher stricture risk, while initial peritoneal drainage associated with lower risk; Hispanic ethnicity showed lower unadjusted risk. A predictive model yielded AUC 0.67, highlighting missing variables (antibiotic duration, feeding practices). Practical implications: use these benchmarks to counsel families, generate hypotheses, and target QI by studying low-risk...

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This episode features Dr. Sarah Swenson (Children’s Nebraska), Dr. Cara Solness, PhD (Children’s Nebraska), and Dr. Desiree Leverette (Emory/Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta) discussing equitable approaches to parental mental health screening in the NICU. They highlight that traditional programs often screen only mothers for depression, missing significant distress among non-gestational parents, especially fathers. Universal screening identified five times more affected partners, improving opportunities for support. The guests underscore the developmental importance of including all caregivers, the need to address stigma and fears of CPS involvement, and the value of trauma-informed commun...

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In this episode, Dr. Marina Metzler (St. Louis Children’s) shares her experience as a mentored fellow within the CHNC network, focusing on her project investigating genetic diagnoses in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). She discusses the application and mentorship process, the support available from statisticians and CHNC collaborators, and early findings showing that infants with genetic conditions often experience longer NICU stays, more ventilator support, and greater feeding challenges. Dr. Metzler highlights the potential for genetic testing to refine diagnosis, guide care, and inform families, while emphasizing the need for larger datasets an...

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This episode features Joshua Hess, MSN, RN discussing strategies to encourage more nurses to attend neonatal conferences where interdisciplinary collaboration drives meaningful quality improvement. Hess highlights how nurse involvement ensures clinical decisions reflect bedside realities, especially in managing conditions like BPD. He describes his unit’s culture of first-name, physician-nurse partnership and how institutional support and presenting a poster helped him attend. He also shares his team’s safe sleep quality initiative, which standardized education, created an order for “safe sleep readiness,” and significantly reduced unsafe sleep environments. Hess encourages NICUs to empower nurses a...

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This episode reflects on key themes emerging from day two of the 2025 CHNC Symposium. Hosts highlight ongoing work within CHNC focus groups, including defining emergent neonatal transport criteria and improving care pathways for infants with intestinal failure. They emphasize the pivotal role of family partners in research and quality improvement, noting the need to reduce financial and logistical barriers that limit caregiver participation at conferences. The discussion also underscores the growing recognition of parental mental health as central to infant outcomes, encouraging universal screening and structured support. Overall, the episode calls for intentional...

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This episode features Dr. Carolina Adams (Emory) and Dr. Faizah Bhatti (Oklahoma Children’s Hospital) discussing findings from the CHNC Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Focus Group. Their survey of pediatric ophthalmologists across U.S. centers revealed wide variability in screening practices, communication with neonatologists, sedation protocols, and anti-VEGF dosing. Many clinicians continue using higher bevacizumab doses despite emerging evidence supporting dose reduction. The guests emphasize the need for consistent, collaborative protocols, especially for infants outside standard screening criteria and extremely premature infants now surviving earlier gestational ages. They preview upcoming technology, including handheld NI...

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In this episode, neonatologists Dr. Megan Paulsen (Children’s Minnesota) and Dr. Sarah Swenson explore strategies for supporting parental mental health in the NICU, emphasizing universal screening for depression, anxiety, and trauma. They highlight the critical impact of parental well-being on infant neurodevelopment, family stability, and long-term quality of life. Drawing on personal and professional experience, Dr. Paulson shares her journey as a NICU parent, illustrating gaps in current care. Practical recommendations include integrating psychologists and social workers into NICU teams, implementing structured follow-up, and advocating for system-level changes to ensure equitable, sustained me...

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In this episode, Dr. Katie Huff (Cincinnati Children’s) and Dr. Pritha Nayak (Dallas Children’s) discuss the work of the CHNC Intestinal Failure Focus Group. They highlight the unique challenges of managing neonates post-NEC, including TPN, nutrition, and long-term outcomes. The group’s recent survey revealed significant variability across centers, including the presence of dedicated intestinal rehab teams and approaches to outpatient follow-up. Future efforts will focus on neurodevelopmental support, optimizing feeding practices, and standardizing criteria for discharge on TPN. This work demonstrates how descriptive, collaborative research within CHNC can spark new hypoth...

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In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Anson and Dr. Luke Viehl from the CHNC Transport Focus Group discuss establishing consensus definitions for emergent neonatal transports across North American NICUs. Using a modified Delphi process, they surveyed 48 CHNC sites on diagnoses, clinical signs, and specialized equipment, achieving over 80% consensus in all categories. Standardized criteria aim to improve timely stabilization, support resource allocation, and facilitate advocacy with hospital administrators and insurers. Practical implications include guiding training, optimizing transport team composition, and integrating with initiatives such as therapeutic hypothermia for HIE. This work lays the foundation for...

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In this episode, Dr. Jacqueline Evans, Dr. Theresa Grover, and Dr. Karna Murthy provide an update on the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), highlighting its growth to 52 centers and over 375,000 infants in the registry. They discuss the symposium’s expansion, multi-center quality improvement collaboratives, and focus groups that enable data-driven research and clinical innovation. Emphasis is placed on leveraging the registry for rare disease insights, supporting career development, and fostering collaboration across institutions. Practical takeaways include opportunities for hospitals to join CHNC, engage with focus groups, and utilize registry data for research, QI...

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This discussion features Dr. Charada Gowda and Dr. Jessica Fry, leaders in the CHNC collaborative network, highlighting ongoing work within the CDH and Palliative Care & Ethics (PACE) focus groups. The CDH group is developing consensus clinical practice guidelines and has created an outcomes calculator to support more informative prenatal counseling and individualized care planning. The PACE group focuses on improving collaboration between neonatology and palliative care teams and recently surveyed CHNC centers regarding resources to support clinicians after patient loss. Findings emphasize that simply knowing support tools exist improves staff well-being. Both groups...

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This discussion features Dr. Malathi Balasundaram and Morgan Kowalski, leaders of the CHNC Family-Centered Care Task Force, outlining how Family Partnership Councils integrate families as true partners in NICU care, policy development, and quality improvement. Instead of providing feedback after decisions are made, families co-create guidelines and initiatives from the start, promoting empowerment and more meaningful parent presence. They describe barriers such as recruitment, compensation, scheduling, and staff uncertainty, and offer practical strategies including foundation support, transparent role expectations, and diversifying family representation. The Task Force’s webinars, office hours, and survey-driven improvement to...

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This discussion features Dr. Clyde Wright, Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who studies perinatal innate immunity and neonatal lung injury. He highlights the rapid rise of acetaminophen as the most commonly used medication for ductal closure in preterm infants despite limited long-term safety data. Dr. Wright explains how acetaminophen metabolism via CYP2E1 produces a reactive metabolite that may affect mitochondrial function in developing lung cells, prompting consideration beyond hepatic toxicity markers. He encourages clinicians to remain judicious, especially outside optimal treatment wi...

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This discussion features Dr. Beena Kamath-Rayne, a neonatologist at Lurie Children’s and Senior Vice President of Global Health and Clinical Skills at the American Academy of Pediatrics, describing how collaborative programs are improving neonatal care quality nationwide. She explains the AAP’s NICU Verification (Neonatal Excellence) Program, which supports level II–IV units in evaluating their structures, processes, and outcomes against national standards through a collaborative, non-punitive survey model. Dr. Kamath-Rayne also highlights the DRIVE Network, which captures delivery room practices to address variation, including CPAP use in term infants. Key takeaways includ...

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In this CHNC 2025 conversation, Daphna speaks with Dr. Beverley Brozanski (St. Louis Children’s) and Dr. Anthony Piazza (Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta) about the evolution of quality improvement within the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC). They trace the journey from the first collaborative—reducing central line infections—to today’s data-driven, multicenter initiatives powered by the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Database (CHND). Reflecting on lessons learned, they emphasize data over time, inclusion of data abstractors as core collaborators, and mentorship that nurtures the next generation of QI leaders, illustrating how sustained collaboration...

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In this episode from the CHNC 2025 Symposium, The Incubator welcomes Dr. Briana Bertoni and Dr. Gene Pallotto to discuss the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium’s (CHNC) CIQI program and its ongoing quality improvement initiatives. They share results from Project Home, a multicenter effort to increase human milk use at discharge—highlighting how transport teams, unified family education, and cultural awareness helped drive progress. The next phase takes a flexible “choose-your-own-adventure” approach, empowering NICUs to target unplanned extubations, nosocomial infections, or oral feeding readiness. With benchmarking, data support, and shared learning, CHNC continues to help di...

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In this CHNC 2025 episode, The Incubator speaks with Dr. Sandy Johng (Seattle Children’s) and Dr. Kelsey Montgomery (Riley Children’s Hospital) about the collaborative work of the CDH Focus Group within the consortium. They discuss a national effort to evaluate bivalirudin versus heparin for ECMO anticoagulation in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia—a shift driven by promising anecdotal evidence but lacking robust data. Through shared cases, systematic review, and consensus guideline development, the group aims to unify practice and elevate research quality. The conversation highlights how real-time collaboration accelerates learning, improves care consis...

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Live from the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) 2025 Symposium in Denver, The Incubator host Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau sits down with Dr. Diana Montoya Williams, neonatologist and researcher, to explore how in-person collaboration shapes the future of neonatal medicine. They discuss CHNC’s role in connecting clinicians across Level IV NICUs through data sharing, quality improvement, and meaningful dialogue. The conversation highlights how conferences like CHNC rekindle professional motivation, strengthen care networks, and translate shared learning into improved outcomes for high-risk infants—reminding neonatal providers why gathering, reflecting, and innovating together still matter...

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Join Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau as she kicks off The Incubator’s live coverage from the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) 2025 Symposium in Denver. This opening episode sets the stage for two days of conversations focused on improving care for high-risk infants through data sharing, collaboration, and quality improvement across Level IV NICUs. Daphna introduces the mission behind CHNC and its powerful Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Database (CHND)—a resource driving benchmarking and innovation nationwide. Tune in for context, purpose, and the energy that fuels this year’s meeting before diving into interviews...

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In this episode, Dr. Ruth Grace Babirekoba discusses the transformative efforts in newborn care in Uganda, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among healthcare professionals. She shares insights on the National Surfactant Administration Protocol and her personal journey in maternal and newborn health, highlighting the significance of mentorship and self-care for future leaders in healthcare.

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As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and...

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The Incubator Podcast welcomes Dr. Henry Lee, Associate Editor of the Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation, to discuss the ninth edition of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). They review major updates released October 22, 2025, including the extended 60 second delayed cord clamping, new guidance on cord milking, refined oxygen targets, ventilation parameters, and updates to airway management and corrective steps. They also highlight three new educational modules, NRP Cardiac, Resuscitation in the NICU, and Neonatal Education for Prehospital Professionals, emphasizing how these changes support evidence based and effective neonatal care worldwide.

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In this episode of Beyond the Beeps, Leah interviews Jennifer Bernardo, a passionate advocate and author of 'Week 26', who shares her journey through the NICU with her twins, Luke and Layla. Jennifer discusses the challenges of having premature babies, the healing power of writing, and the importance of community support. She emphasizes the role of presence in NICU care, the significance of involving siblings, and her advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the NICU experience. The conversation highlights the resilience of NICU parents and the hope that guides them through difficult times.<...

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What’s new in neonatal innovation and research this week?

Join Ben and Daphna for a lively Journal Club episode of The Incubator Podcast, recorded after a long NICU day but packed with energy and insight. They begin with an update on the newly released NRP 9th Edition, preview their excitement for the upcoming Delphi Neonatal Innovation Conference, and then dive into five remarkable studies shaping neonatal care.

From the use of CARPEDIEM for renal replacement therapy in the tiniest infants to a meta-analysis on high-dose vitamin D...

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Nebulized nitroglycerin as an adjuvant drug in management of persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborns: a randomized controlled trial.

Farag MM, Ghazal HAE, Abdel-Mohsen AM, Rezk MA.Eur J Pediatr. 2025 Sep 1;184(9):586. doi: 10.1007/s00431-025-06381-5.PMID: 40888971 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

Support the show

As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd...

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Azithromycin for Prevention of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Other Neonatal Adverse Outcomes in Preterm Infants: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Joseph M, Murali Krishna M, Karlinksi Vizentin V, Provinciatto H, Ezenna C.Neonatology. 2025 Aug 12:1-10. doi: 10.1159/000547537. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40795809 Free article.

Support the show

As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu...