Cognitive development at late infancy and school age in children cooled for neonatal encephalopathy.

Background: We investigated the association and individual changes in cognitive scores between late infancy and early school age in children cooled for neonatal encephalopathy secondary to perinatal asphyxia (NE) who did not develop cerebral palsy.

Methods: We included 50 children born ≥35 weeks gestation cooled for NE who did not develop cerebral palsy. We assessed cognition using an average of cognitive and language composite scores (CLC) from Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III) at 18-21 months and full-scale IQ (FSIQ) on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) at 6-8 years.

Implementation of national guidelines on antenatal magnesium sulfate for neonatal neuroprotection: extended evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the National PReCePT Programme in England.

Background: Since 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines have recommended antenatal magnesium sulfate (MgSO) for mothers in preterm labour (<30 weeks' gestation) to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy (CP) in the preterm baby. However, the implementation of this guideline in clinical practice was slow, and MgSO use varied between maternity units. In 2018, the PRrevention of Cerebral palsy in PreTerm labour (PReCePT) programme, an evidence-based quality improvement (QI) intervention to improve use of MgSO, was rolled out across England.

Deaths in children in England from SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first 2 years of the pandemic: a cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this analysis was to describe the epidemiology, demographics and characteristics of children and young people (CYP) who died of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England during the first 2 years of the pandemic.

Design: The cohort investigated in this study is all CYP, born alive at, or after, 22 weeks of gestation, who died before their 18th birthday between 1 February 2020 and 31 March 2022 in England. All cases were reviewed to identify if SARS-CoV-2 probably, or possibly, contributed to death.

Developing a core outcome set for assessing interventions and care for parents after neonatal death in high-income countries (iCHOOSE Neonatal study): protocol for a mixed-methods study.

Introduction: Neonatal death exerts long-lasting impact on parents' mental health, finances and relationships, and the wider family. There is national and international momentum to evaluate interventions to support parents after the death of a baby. Core Outcome Sets (COSs) provide a minimum set of outcomes, agreed by stakeholders to be important, which should be evaluated in all studies to support evidence syntheses and identification of the most effective interventions.

Child mortality in England after national lockdowns for COVID-19: An analysis of childhood deaths, 2019-2023.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic children and young people (CYP) mortality in England reduced to the lowest on record, but it is unclear if the mechanisms which facilitated a reduction in mortality had a longer lasting impact, and what impact the pandemic, and its social restrictions, have had on deaths with longer latencies (e.g., malignancies).

Mental health of parents with infants in NICU receiving cooling therapy for hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.

Background: Parents cuddling their babies during intensive care to promote parent-infant bonding is usual practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, babies undergoing cooling therapy and intensive care are not routinely offered parent-infant cuddles due to concerns of impacting the cooling process or intensive care. We developed the CoolCuddle intervention to enable parents to cuddle babies safely during cooling therapy.

Cooling and physiology during parent cuddling infants with neonatal encephalopathy in usual care: CoolCuddle-2 study.

Aim: CoolCuddle, enabling parents to cuddle their babies with neonatal encephalopathy (NE) during therapeutic hypothermia and intensive care (TH), was developed in research settings. To determine the impact of implementing CoolCuddle in usual care in six diverse neonatal intensive care units on the cooling process and intensive care.

Methods: This vital sign cohort study embedded within the CoolCuddle implementation study enrolled 36 infants receiving TH for NE.

Embedding the 'CoolCuddle' intervention for infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy in NICU: an evaluation using normalisation process theory.

Objectives: Newborn infants exposed to lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain around birth may develop brain dysfunction (hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy-HIE). These infants undergo 72 hours of cooling therapy and most are not held by their parents in the UK. We examined the implementation of 'CoolCuddle', identifying factors that impact embedding of this complex intervention in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across England.

PRECIOUS study (PREterm Caesarean/vaginal birth and IVH/OUtcomeS): does mode of birth reduce the risk of death or brain injury in very preterm babies? A cohort and emulated target trial protocol.

Introduction: Very preterm babies are at risk of poor neurodevelopmental outcomes and death. Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) after birth is the most prevalent cause of this. Birth by caesarean section may protect against IVH in very preterm babies, but the evidence is limited.

Risk factors for infection and outcomes in infants with neonatal encephalopathy: a cohort study.

Background: To determine the association between early infection risk factors and short-term outcomes in infants with neonatal encephalopathy following perinatal asphyxia (NE).

Methods: A retrospective population-based cohort study utilizing the National Neonatal Research Database that included infants with NE admitted to neonatal units in England and Wales, Jan 2008-Feb 2018.

Exposure: one or more of rupture of membranes >18 h, maternal group B streptococcus colonization, chorioamnionitis, maternal pyrexia or antepartum antibiotics.

Newborn Health and Child Mortality Across England.

Importance: Although the immediate impact of neonatal illness is well recognized, its wider and longer term outcomes on childhood mortality and the role of specific illnesses across childhood are unclear.

Objective: To investigate how many deaths in childhood are associated with neonatal illness and the underlying conditions of the children who died.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study of children who died before age 10 years in England between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2021, used data from the National Child Mortality Database.

Measuring the impact of deprivation on learning difficulties and behaviour among infants born preterm: A cohort study.

Background: Preterm birth and social deprivation are known risk factors for learning difficulties. However there has been little work looking into the interaction between these two risks. We aimed to identify if children born preterm to families with higher levels of social deprivation are disproportionately more likely to have learning difficulties than those with lower levels of social deprivation.

Quality of Life at a 10-Year Follow-Up of Children Born Preterm with Post-Hemorrhagic Ventricular Dilatation: A Cohort Study.

Background: Post-haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) is commonly seen in extremely preterm babies, carries significant morbidity, and may cause neonatal mortality. There is a lack of literature on the subsequent health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in childhood. The aim of this work was to assess the quality of life of preterm babies after PHVD at 10 years of age using two validated questionnaires.

What matters to families about the healthcare of preterm or low birth weight infants: A qualitative evidence synthesis.

Objective: We examined what matters to families about the healthcare provided to preterm or LBW infants in hospital and the community, to ensure that care meets the needs of infants and parents.

Methods: We searched databases to identify eligible studies examining the views and expectations of families. Study quality was assessed using the CASP checklist for qualitative studies.

Early childhood parent-reported speech problems in small and large for gestational age term-born and preterm-born infants: a cohort study.

Objective: (1) To assess if preterm and term small for gestational age (SGA) or large for gestational age (LGA) infants have more parent-reported speech problems in early childhood compared with infants with birth weights appropriate for gestational age (AGA). (2) To assess if preterm and term SGA and LGA infants have more parent-reported learning, behavioural, hearing, movement and hand problems in early childhood compared with AGA infants.

Design: Cohort study.

Postnatal phenobarbital for the prevention of intraventricular haemorrhage in preterm infants.

Background: Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of preterm birth. Large haemorrhages are associated with a high risk of disability and hydrocephalus. Instability of blood pressure and cerebral blood in the newborn flow are postulated as causative factors.

Child Mortality in England During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, child mortality in England was the lowest on record, but if this trend will continue, or if unrecognized morbidity during the first year of the pandemic will manifest as increased deaths over the next few years is unclear.

Objective: To examine the risks and patterns of childhood deaths before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study includes all child deaths in England from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2022.

What is the relationship between deprivation, modifiable factors and childhood deaths: a cohort study using the English National Child MortalityDatabase.

Objectives: The aim of this analysis is to identify the patterns of social deprivation and childhood mortality; and identify potential points where public health, social and education interventions, or health policy may be best targeted.

Design: Decile of deprivation and underlying population distribution was derived using Office for National Statistics data. The risk of death was then derived using a Poisson regression model, calculating the increasing risk of death for each increasing deprivation decile.

The effectiveness of interventions to prevent intraventricular haemorrhage in premature infants: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) is a common problem in preterm infants, being a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite many randomised controlled trials comparing interventions to prevent IVH, the best prevention remains unclear. This study aims to review all the interventions which intended to reduce the incidence of IVH and compare them in a network meta-analysis.

Population birth outcomes in 2020 and experiences of expectant mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A 'born in Wales' mixed methods study using routine data.

Background: Pregnancy can be a stressful time and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life. This study aims to investigate the pandemic impact on pregnancy experience, rates of primary childhood immunisations and the differences in birth outcomes in during 2020 to those of previous years.

Methods: Self-reported pregnancy experience: 215 expectant mothers (aged 16+) in Wales completed an online survey about their experiences of pregnancy during the pandemic.

Physiological responses to cuddling babies with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy during therapeutic hypothermia: an observational study.

Objectives: To determine whether parents cuddling infants during therapeutic hypothermia (TH) would affect cooling therapy, cardiorespiratory or neurophysiological measures. The secondary aim was to explore parent-infant bonding, maternal postnatal depression and breastfeeding.

Design: Prospective observational study.

'Opportunity to bond and a sense of normality': Parent and staff views of cuddling babies undergoing therapeutic hypothermia in neonatal intensive care: 'CoolCuddle'.

Background: Currently, parents whose sick babies are undergoing three days of cooling therapy for hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not permitted to cuddle their cooled babies, due to concerns of warming the baby or dislodging breathing tubes or vascular catheters. Parents want to stay and care for their cooled babies and have reported that bonding is adversely affected when they are not permitted to hold them.

Design And Participants: Qualitative interviews with 21 parents of cooled babies in NICU (11 mothers and 10 fathers) and 10 neonatal staff (4 consultants and 6 nurses) explored their views and experiences of an intervention to enable parents to cuddle their cooled babies (CoolCuddle).

nSeP: immune and metabolic biomarkers for early detection of neonatal sepsis-protocol for a prospective multicohort study.

Introduction: Diagnosing neonatal sepsis is heavily dependent on clinical phenotyping as culture-positive body fluid has poor sensitivity, and existing blood biomarkers have poor specificity.A combination of machine learning, statistical and deep pathway biology analyses led to the identification of a tripartite panel of biologically connected immune and metabolic markers that showed greater than 99% accuracy for detecting bacterial infection with 100% sensitivity. The cohort study described here is designed as a large-scale clinical validation of this previous work.