Administration of antenatal corticosteroids to pregnant women with imminent delivery of a newborn at 24 to 34 weeks of gestation represents one of the most important advances in perinatal medicine in the past 25 years1,2. A single course of antenatal steroid has been associated with a decrease in acute neonatal systemic morbidity and mortality after preterm birth reducing the risk of respirator...

There is no doubt that breastmilk is the best milk for the newborn baby. Even for a preterm baby, biological mother's milk is the best, and specially tailored to the baby's needs. The hazards of bottle feeding and milk formulae, especially in a developing country are well known and require no elaboration. In view of the enormous advantage of breastmilk, even low birth weight babies both preterm...

Iron deficiency anemia is a common problem in newborn infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends iron prophylaxis at 4 months of age for term infants. There is no specific recommendation for iron prophylaxis in late-preterm infants. We aimed to establish the optimum time for iron prophylaxis in late-preterm infants. Thirty-eight late-preterm (Group 1) and 38 term (Group 2) infants b...

We report on a preterm male newborn with complete ectopia cordis associated with Cantrell's syndrome. The neonate had an ectopia cordis involving defects of the lower sternum, supraumbilical abdominal wall, anterior portion of the diaphragm, and diaphragmatic portion of the pericardium associated with complex congenital heart defects. The infant died shortly after birth. We discuss this case an...

A late preterm newborn baby presented with respiratory distress and increasing cyanosis within 2 hours of birth. Bedside transthroracic echocardiography showed a critically obstructed vertical vein in a supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (TAPVd). Emergency stenting of the vertical vein was successfully performed at 24 hours of life.

BACKGROUND Preterm birth rate is increasing and is currently a worldwide concern. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of preterm birth in a sample of health facilities in Brazil and to identify the main risk factors associated with spontaneous preterm births. METHODS AND FINDINGS This was a multicentre cross sectional study on preterm births in 20 referral obstetric hospi...

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is an established treatment for hydrocephalus and is an alternative method avoiding shunts and its complications. There is still controversy regarding the higher risk of failure in younger infants. NARF was a male preterm newborn of 33 weeks old, with Moebius syndrome and 1,800 grams at birth. Detailed neonatal evaluation revealed hydrocephalus with bilate...

BACKGROUND In Choma District, southern Zambia, the neonatal mortality rate is approximately 40 per 1000 live births and, although the rate is decreasing, many deliveries take place outside of formal facilities. Understanding local practices during the postnatal period is essential for optimizing newborn care programs. METHODS We conducted 36 in-depth interviews, five focus groups and eight ob...

For many years, newborn infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units have had routine electrocardiography and been monitored for respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure. Only recently has it also been considered important to monitor brain function using continuous electroencephalography. The role of cerebral function monitoring in sick full term and preterm infa...

OBJECTIVE The goal was to review published studies of analgesic effects of sweet solutions, to ascertain areas with sufficient evidence of effectiveness and areas of uncertainty. METHODS Databases searched included Medline, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database, and PsycINFO, using the terms pain*, infant*, neonat*, newborn*, sucrose, glucose, and alter...