The Incubator

Send us a textThis week on Tech Tuesday, Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Zina Yudina, founder and CEO of BabyLat, a Swiss startup building a novel device to help hospitals create fortifier directly from a mother’s own milk!Zina shares how the idea began as a way to support working mothers with limited maternity leave, but quickly evolved into a system for concentrating and fortifying human milk for preterm and very low birth weight infants. The BabyLat device uses pressure-driven ultrafiltration to preserve the natural components of human milk while boosting its nutritional value, all in a compact unit designed for hospital use.The conversation covers how hospitals might implement the tool, how much time is currently spent fortifying feeds manually, and how BabyLat fits into the larger movement toward 100% human milk-based nutrition. Zina also discusses the challenges of raising support for neonatal innovations, and how clinical teams can get involved in early research and pilot use.It’s a practical look at the future of personalized milk preparation—and what it might take to make it a new standard of care. Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textIn this week’s Journal Club, Ben and Daphna unpack a series of recent studies exploring outcomes in neonatology—from long-term mortality after severe neonatal morbidity to short-term feeding strategies in preterm infants.They open with a large population-based Swedish study showing that infants who experience severe neonatal morbidities face elevated mortality risks well into adolescence—especially those with neurological complications. The discussion highlights how early-life diagnoses carry weight far beyond the NICU, and how long-term support systems may not be fully equipped to manage that risk.Next, the hosts examine a small German crossover trial on prone positioning, revealing that even simple changes in posture may cut hypoxemic episodes in half. They follow this with a randomized trial comparing dopamine and norepinephrine for neonatal septic shock, a data-heavy look at the nuanced physiology behind first-line interventions.The episode rounds out with studies on cold milk for feeding dysphagia, late-onset sepsis risk with hydrocortisone, the impact of tele-neonatology on cooling time in HIE, and a new meta-analysis on kangaroo care’s role in reducing infection.It’s a pragmatic, fast-paced overview of recent literature shaping how we care for vulnerable newborns. Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textFrom Warm to Cold: Feeding Cold Milk to Preterm Infants with Uncoordinated Oral Feeding Patterns.Ferrara-Gonzalez L, Kamity R, Htun Z, Dumpa V, Islam S, Hanna N.Nutrients. 2025 Apr 26;17(9):1457. doi: 10.3390/nu17091457.PMID: 40362766 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textProne Positioning Was Associated With Less Hypoxemic Events and Improved Feeding Tolerance in Preterm Infants.Bohnhorst B, Lutz E, Pirr S, Peter C, Böhne C.Acta Paediatr. 2025 May 26. doi: 10.1111/apa.70153. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40418109Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textNorepinephrine versus Dopamine for Septic Shock in Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Mazhari MYA, Priyadarshi M, Singh P, Chaurasia S, Basu S.J Pediatr. 2025 Jul;282:114599. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114599. Epub 2025 Apr 17.PMID: 40252959 Clinical Trial.Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textAll-cause mortality and infection-related outcomes of hospital-initiated kangaroo care versus conventional neonatal care for low-birthweight infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Minotti C, Jost K, Aghlmandi S, Schlaeppi C, Sieswerda E, van Werkhoven CH, Schulzke SM, Bielicki JA.Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2025 Jul;9(7):470-483. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(25)00130-0. Epub 2025 May 26.PMID: 40441171 Free article.Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textSevere Neonatal Morbidity and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Through Infancy and Late Adolescence.Graham H, Johansson K, Persson M, Norman M, Razaz N.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Jun 10:e251873. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1873. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40493844Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textImpact of teleneonatology on time to goal temperature in outborn neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy requiring therapeutic hypothermia.Kaczor M, Hentz R, Youssef PE, Fine A, Fang J.J Perinatol. 2025 May 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02324-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40442292Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textProphylactic hydrocortisone and the risk of sepsis in neonates born extremely preterm.Baud O, Lehert P; PREMILOC study group.Eur J Pediatr. 2025 Jun 14;184(7):419. doi: 10.1007/s00431-025-06248-9.PMID: 40515786 Clinical Trial.Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!

Send us a textIn this episode of Neo News, journalist and New York Times critic-at-large Amanda Hess joins host Dr. Eli Cahan to revisit the story behind her viral essay, “My Son Has a Rare Syndrome, So I Turned to the Internet.” Amanda shares the disorienting experience of receiving her son’s diagnosis of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome during a routine third-trimester ultrasound and the digital spiral that followed.As a new parent navigating the NICU and early medical complexities, she reflects on the paradox of modern care: how high-tech diagnostics coexist with emotional disconnection—and how often the only available companion is the search bar. The conversation explores the reality of caregiving with limited context, the emotional fallout of confronting diagnosis alone, and the unpredictable role of the internet and social media in shaping parental perception.Drawing from her upcoming book Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, Amanda brings a clear-eyed perspective on the information gaps, algorithmic noise, and the human need for clarity when the stakes are impossibly high.Listen in for a raw and thoughtful look at what happens between the scan, the screen, and the real child in your arms. Support the showAs 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. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!