There is increasing recognition that parents play a critical role in promoting the health
outcomes of low birthweight and preterm infants. Despite a large body of literature on …

The third trimester of pregnancy represents a sensitive phase for infant brain plasticity when
a series of fast-developing cellular events (synaptogenesis, neuronal migration, and …

BACKGROUND: Very low birth weight infants often gain weight poorly and demonstrate
growth failure during the initial hospitalization. Although many of the major morbidities …

Both babies and their parents may experience a stay in the newborn intensive care unit
(NICU) as a traumatic or a 'toxic stress,'which can lead to dysregulation of the hypothalamic …

Prematurity is associated with an increased risk of long-term health and
neurodevelopmental problems. Key perinatal and neonatal factors that affect these …

Every year, 15 million preterm infants are born, and most spend their first weeks in neonatal
intensive care units (NICUs)[1]. Although essential for the support and survival of these …

Aim Little is known about the amount of physical parent–infant closeness in neonatal
intensive care units (NICU s), and this study explored that issue in six European countries …

Premature infants hospitalized after birth are exposed to repeated painful procedures as part
of their routine medical care. Early neonatal exposure to unmanaged pain has been linked …

The holding of an infant with ventral skin-to-skin contact typically in an upright position with
the swaddled infant on the chest of the parent, is commonly referred to as kangaroo care …

Abstract In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a technical report on
the lifelong effects of early toxic stress on human development, and included a new …