The Incubator

Terri Marin, a neonatal nurse practitioner and nurse scientist at Augusta University, champions the overlooked kidneys of premature infants. She discusses ongoing nephron development after preterm birth, the high frequency of neonatal acute kidney injury, modern KDIGO criteria, nonoliguric injury, transfusion-related perfusion changes, near-infrared spectroscopy, fluid assessment, and the lifelong risks of hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

Dr. Khorshid Mohammad, a neonatal neurocritical care expert at the University of Calgary, explores genuine NICU parent partnerships and the power of thoughtful questions, listening, and achievable family goals. He examines why newborn pain scoring remains subjective, how dexmedetomidine unexpectedly increased opioid exposure, and how protocolized, score-driven quality improvement reshaped postoperative pain management.

Krista Matrone, a neonatologist and medical education leader at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital, joins the conversation from FANNP 2026. They explore why NICU education must bring nurses, NNPs, respiratory therapists, trainees, and physicians together. They also discuss breaking down professional silos, building empathy through bioethics conferences, and making complex, unitwide teaching truly collaborative.

Could banana puree help NICU infants struggling with dysphagia? This discussion explores a retrospective study in mature preterm infants, including improved oral intake within seven days, respiratory safety monitoring, growth outcomes, and discharge feeding status. The conversation also considers banana’s thickening properties, its low-tech appeal, and whether individualized clinical use can move ahead of randomized trials.

A Swedish national cohort of nearly 4,700 very preterm infants sparks a spirited look at probiotics and neonatal outcomes. The discussion explores dramatic reductions in death, NEC, and surgical NEC, comparisons with Dutch and US research, strain-specific effects, conflicts of interest, and the tricky role of immortal time bias. Training reform, potential CME, and an upcoming neonatal conference also make an appearance.

Patrick Myers, a Northwestern neonatologist and fellowship director, and Brooke Vergales, neonatologist and ONTPD co-chair, unpack the ABP’s decision to keep neonatal-perinatal fellowship at three years. They discuss unified advocacy, upcoming entrustable professional activities, the end of scholarly product requirements, and a new national effort to define excellence in neonatology training.

Four neonatal studies take center stage: long-term PDA outcomes, individualized milk fortification, probiotics and NEC, and the possibility of organ donation after NICU deaths. The discussion also examines a sibling-matched analysis of prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism or ADHD, plus the challenges of weighing promising findings against safety concerns and confounding.

A large sibling-matched study examines whether Tylenol use during pregnancy is linked to autism or ADHD. The discussion explores how researchers strengthen evidence, how clinicians can address worried families without dismissing them, and why persistence, transparency, listening, and timely corrections are essential for building trust.

A national Australian study suggests nearly one-third of NICU deaths may involve potential organ donors. The discussion explores donation after circulatory or neurological death, missed referrals, transplant outcomes, and how standardized protocols could help families consider donation during end-of-life care. It also examines donation as a meaningful legacy and the practical steps NICUs can take to build safe pathways.

A Dutch multicenter study explores routine three-strain probiotics in extremely premature infants. The discussion covers a striking drop in necrotizing enterocolitis and late-onset sepsis, but also a rise in non-NEC mortality and one fatal B. infantis infection. Seasonal trends, reference-group findings, baseline risk, and number-needed-to-harm calculations complicate the case for routine use.