The Incubator

Send us a textThis episode features Joshua Hess, MSN, RN discussing strategies to encourage more nurses to attend neonatal conferences where interdisciplinary collaboration drives meaningful quality improvement. Hess highlights how nurse involvement ensures clinical decisions reflect bedside realities, especially in managing conditions like BPD. He describes his unit’s culture of first-name, physician-nurse partnership and how institutional support and presenting a poster helped him attend. He also shares his team’s safe sleep quality initiative, which standardized education, created an order for “safe sleep readiness,” and significantly reduced unsafe sleep environments. Hess encourages NICUs to empower nurses as conference participants, educators, and change leaders.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, Dr. Marina Metzler (St. Louis Children’s) shares her experience as a mentored fellow within the CHNC network, focusing on her project investigating genetic diagnoses in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). She discusses the application and mentorship process, the support available from statisticians and CHNC collaborators, and early findings showing that infants with genetic conditions often experience longer NICU stays, more ventilator support, and greater feeding challenges. Dr. Metzler highlights the potential for genetic testing to refine diagnosis, guide care, and inform families, while emphasizing the need for larger datasets and multi-center collaboration to advance understanding in this complex population.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 textThis episode features Dr. Carolina Adams (Emory) and Dr. Faizah Bhatti (Oklahoma Children’s Hospital) discussing findings from the CHNC Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Focus Group. Their survey of pediatric ophthalmologists across U.S. centers revealed wide variability in screening practices, communication with neonatologists, sedation protocols, and anti-VEGF dosing. Many clinicians continue using higher bevacizumab doses despite emerging evidence supporting dose reduction. The guests emphasize the need for consistent, collaborative protocols, especially for infants outside standard screening criteria and extremely premature infants now surviving earlier gestational ages. They preview upcoming technology, including handheld NICU-compatible OCT devices, that may enhance early detection, shared decision-making, and long-term visual outcomes.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 textThis episode reflects on key themes emerging from day two of the 2025 CHNC Symposium. Hosts highlight ongoing work within CHNC focus groups, including defining emergent neonatal transport criteria and improving care pathways for infants with intestinal failure. They emphasize the pivotal role of family partners in research and quality improvement, noting the need to reduce financial and logistical barriers that limit caregiver participation at conferences. The discussion also underscores the growing recognition of parental mental health as central to infant outcomes, encouraging universal screening and structured support. Overall, the episode calls for intentional collaboration across disciplines and with families to drive meaningful neonatal care improvement.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, Dr. Katie Huff (Cincinnati Children’s) and Dr. Pritha Nayak (Dallas Children’s) discuss the work of the CHNC Intestinal Failure Focus Group. They highlight the unique challenges of managing neonates post-NEC, including TPN, nutrition, and long-term outcomes. The group’s recent survey revealed significant variability across centers, including the presence of dedicated intestinal rehab teams and approaches to outpatient follow-up. Future efforts will focus on neurodevelopmental support, optimizing feeding practices, and standardizing criteria for discharge on TPN. This work demonstrates how descriptive, collaborative research within CHNC can spark new hypotheses and improve outcomes for this complex neonatal population.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, neonatologists Dr. Megan Paulsen (Children’s Minnesota) and Dr. Sarah Swenson explore strategies for supporting parental mental health in the NICU, emphasizing universal screening for depression, anxiety, and trauma. They highlight the critical impact of parental well-being on infant neurodevelopment, family stability, and long-term quality of life. Drawing on personal and professional experience, Dr. Paulson shares her journey as a NICU parent, illustrating gaps in current care. Practical recommendations include integrating psychologists and social workers into NICU teams, implementing structured follow-up, and advocating for system-level changes to ensure equitable, sustained mental health support for families.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, Dr. Elizabeth Anson and Dr. Luke Viehl from the CHNC Transport Focus Group discuss establishing consensus definitions for emergent neonatal transports across North American NICUs. Using a modified Delphi process, they surveyed 48 CHNC sites on diagnoses, clinical signs, and specialized equipment, achieving over 80% consensus in all categories. Standardized criteria aim to improve timely stabilization, support resource allocation, and facilitate advocacy with hospital administrators and insurers. Practical implications include guiding training, optimizing transport team composition, and integrating with initiatives such as therapeutic hypothermia for HIE. This work lays the foundation for research, system-level improvements, and safer, more equitable neonatal transport practices.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, Dr. Jacqueline Evans, Dr. Theresa Grover, and Dr. Karna Murthy provide an update on the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), highlighting its growth to 52 centers and over 375,000 infants in the registry. They discuss the symposium’s expansion, multi-center quality improvement collaboratives, and focus groups that enable data-driven research and clinical innovation. Emphasis is placed on leveraging the registry for rare disease insights, supporting career development, and fostering collaboration across institutions. Practical takeaways include opportunities for hospitals to join CHNC, engage with focus groups, and utilize registry data for research, QI, and improved neonatal patient care outcomes.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 textThis discussion features Dr. Charada Gowda and Dr. Jessica Fry, leaders in the CHNC collaborative network, highlighting ongoing work within the CDH and Palliative Care & Ethics (PACE) focus groups. The CDH group is developing consensus clinical practice guidelines and has created an outcomes calculator to support more informative prenatal counseling and individualized care planning. The PACE group focuses on improving collaboration between neonatology and palliative care teams and recently surveyed CHNC centers regarding resources to support clinicians after patient loss. Findings emphasize that simply knowing support tools exist improves staff well-being. Both groups model multidisciplinary collaboration that enhances clinical guidance, communication, and family-centered care across the NICU.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 textThis discussion features Dr. Malathi Balasundaram and Morgan Kowalski, leaders of the CHNC Family-Centered Care Task Force, outlining how Family Partnership Councils integrate families as true partners in NICU care, policy development, and quality improvement. Instead of providing feedback after decisions are made, families co-create guidelines and initiatives from the start, promoting empowerment and more meaningful parent presence. They describe barriers such as recruitment, compensation, scheduling, and staff uncertainty, and offer practical strategies including foundation support, transparent role expectations, and diversifying family representation. The Task Force’s webinars, office hours, and survey-driven improvement tools help units build sustainable, equitable, family-centered practices across both NICU and follow-up care settings.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!