The Incubator

Send us a textIn this episode, Ben and Daphna sit down with Cassie Carrigan and Sacha Force to share the story of Cassie’s son, Caleb, and the lessons his short life continues to teach. Cassie, a mother, mental health therapist, and NICU parent, walks us through Caleb’s complex diagnostic journey, multiple surgeries, and ultimately the genetic condition that explained his struggles. She reflects candidly on the emotional toll of repeated bad news, the challenge of decision-making in crisis, and the importance of partnership between parents and medical teams.Alongside her, Sacha—Caleb’s NICU nurse and now a clinical educator—offers her perspective on building trust with families, balancing medical expertise with empathy, and carrying Caleb’s legacy forward in her teaching of new nurses. Together, Cassie and Sacha describe how their bond has grown into an ongoing collaboration, bringing parents’ voices directly into staff training and helping future NICU teams understand the lasting impact of compassionate care.This conversation highlights the reality of navigating grief, the role of faith and resilience, and the importance of remembering that every baby—and every family—shapes the professionals who care for them 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 textWhat if you could hold in your hands a roadmap to the most influential studies that have shaped modern neonatology? In this special episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. John Zupancic, Dr. Susanna Hay, and Dr. Roger Soll to discuss the release of their new book, 50 Studies Every Neonatologist Should Know. Together with their co-editors Dr. Barbara Schmidt and Dr. Haresh Kirpalani, the team has distilled decades of neonatal research into an accessible, thoughtfully structured volume designed to guide clinicians, trainees, and educators.The conversation explores the motivation behind the book, the editorial process of selecting just 50 landmark trials from thousands, and the importance of revisiting historical studies to understand how evidence has evolved over time. From the groundbreaking DART trial to the early work of pioneers like Bill Silverman, the authors emphasize not only the science but also the stories, challenges, and human insights that lie behind each study.Whether you are a seasoned neonatologist or just beginning your training, this episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at a project that brings clarity and context to evidence-based practice.📖 Get your copy of the book here: https://amzn.to/4nVTqcqSupport 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, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Isabella Eiler from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is originally from the Milwaukee area and first attended the Medical College of Wisconsin for medical school. She then went on to complete her pediatric residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine. In this episode of Rupa's Fellows Friday, Dr. Isabella Eiler discusses her journey in neonatology, particularly her interest in NeuroNICU and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). She shares insights from her research on missed opportunities for neonatal assessments and the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in improving patient care. Dr. Eiler emphasizes the significance of mentorship during fellowship and the impact of social determinants on neonatal follow-up care. She also reflects on the challenges faced in research and offers valuable advice for future neonatology fellows. 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. Daphna Barbeau welcomes Dr. Shirley Russ, Senior Project Scientist for the Life Course Translational Research Network, to discuss how life course health development can reframe neonatal care and follow-up after prematurity. Drawing from her extensive work leading the Prematurity Node within the network, Dr. Russ highlights why translating research into practice at scale is essential for improving lifelong outcomes.The conversation emphasizes moving beyond a problem-focused, deficit-based model of NICU follow-up toward a strength-based approach that recognizes resilience, family capacity, and the broader developmental ecosystem surrounding each child. Dr. Russ outlines how interventions should not only detect problems but proactively optimize development—by supporting parents’ mental health, fostering nurturing environments, and integrating community resources into care.She also shares insights into co-designing research and interventions with families, ensuring that their lived experiences guide both priorities and solutions. Practical examples include addressing parental trauma, redesigning follow-up clinics, and viewing prematurity in the context of interconnected systems—from family and community supports to schools and policies.This forward-looking episode challenges clinicians to rethink follow-up care as more than monitoring milestones. Instead, it presents an opportunity to partner with families and communities to build healthier, more resilient futures for children born preterm. 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. Daphna Barbeau sits down with Dr. Richard Shaw (Stanford University) and Dr. Soudabeh Givrad (Weill Cornell Medical College), child psychiatry experts and co-authors of Neurodevelopmental, Mental Health, and Parenting Issues in Preterm Infants. Their conversation shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked intersection of prematurity, neurodevelopment, and family mental health.Dr. Givrad explains how the rapid brain growth that normally occurs late in pregnancy makes preterm infants especially vulnerable to stress, pain, separation, and environmental influences in the NICU. She and Dr. Shaw outline the higher risks for challenges in cognition, language, and motor development, while emphasizing opportunities for early interventions that can positively shape outcomes.The discussion then turns to “infant mental health” and the ways relationships in the early years set the stage for emotional regulation, social development, and resilience. Both guests highlight how parental trauma, PTSD, depression, and anxiety affect not only caregivers’ well-being but also how they interact with and raise their children. Concepts such as vulnerable child syndrome, overprotection, and parental guilt are explored in depth.Ultimately, this episode underscores why supporting parental mental health is as essential as any medical treatment—because how parents experience and process the NICU journey profoundly shapes the lifelong health and development of their children. 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 moving episode, Dr. Ben Courchia and Dr. Daphna Barbeau are joined by LaToshia Rouse, a certified doula and patient engagement consultant, and Dr. Jessica DiBari from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Together, they share insights from their two Parent Perspective articles in the special issue of Children, which focus on the NICU experience and the critical transition to home.LaToshia and Jessica describe the NICU as a culture all its own—one that parents enter suddenly, without preparation, and often with a sense of trauma and grief. They discuss the psychological distress families carry, the challenges of bonding with fragile infants, and the ways communication can either deepen wounds or help parents feel empowered. Practical steps like hand hugs, skin-to-skin care, and peer support emerge as powerful tools for connection.The conversation then shifts to life after discharge, which both guests describe as one of the most daunting transitions. From feeding challenges and equipment management to the constant worry about emergencies, families must adapt quickly while navigating limited community support. LaToshia and Jessica emphasize the need for honest preparation, early planning, and continued guidance that helps parents shed the “fragile baby” mindset and embrace their child’s resilience.This episode highlights how listening to families transforms not only the NICU experience but also the long journey that follows.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. Daphna Barbeau speaks with Dr. Paige Terrien Church and Dr. Ashwini Lakshmanan about one of the most delicate yet essential aspects of neonatal care: communication. Drawing on their recent articles, the discussion highlights how the words we choose in the NICU profoundly shape families’ experiences, hopes, and perceptions of their child’s future.Dr. Church addresses the discomfort many clinicians feel when discussing disability, emphasizing how entrenched medical training and ableism can unintentionally bias conversations. She introduces the concepts of microethics—the subtle, everyday interactions between families and providers—and how language choices like “risk” versus “possibility” can dramatically shift tone and meaning. The group explores how framing outcomes around abilities and opportunities, rather than limitations, helps families make sense of uncertainty with dignity and clarity.Dr. Lakshmanan’s qualitative work brings in the voices of parents, revealing how uncertainty permeates the NICU journey and affects bonding, mental health, and confidence. Together, the guests highlight strategies for building trust, addressing parental guilt, and creating systems of support during the transition from hospital to home.This episode challenges clinicians to pause, examine their own biases, and recognize language as a tool as powerful as any intervention delivered in 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 textIn this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau is joined by Dr. Neal Halfon (UCLA) and Dr. Shirley Russ (Cedars-Sinai/UCLA), two leading voices in life course health development, to explore how this framework reshapes our understanding of preterm infant care and follow-up. Together, they discuss their article, Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants After NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up.Dr. Halfon introduces the seven principles of life course health development—development, unfolding, complexity, timing, plasticity, thriving, and harmony—and explains how each reveals the dynamic, multilayered nature of health trajectories. Far from abstract, these principles highlight how small adjustments in the NICU can shape long-term outcomes, with early interventions compounding over time.Dr. Russ reflects on how harmony across biology, family, and society is essential, while also emphasizing the risks posed by mismatches between development and environment. The discussion expands to consider how interventions can be more developmentally tailored, family-centered, strength-based, and designed for long-term optimization rather than short-term problem detection.This episode encourages neonatal professionals to see beyond the walls of the NICU, adopting a design mindset that views care as a team process and recognizes the far-reaching impact of early decisions on a child’s ability not just to survive, but to thrive. 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, we chat with Dr. Tim Nelin and Dr. Yarden Fraiman, two authors from the recently published special issue of Children on the life course implications of preterm birth. Together, they explore how inequities—both environmental and social—can shape the long-term health trajectories of preterm infants.Dr. Nelin introduces the idea of “micro” and “macro” environments, showing how factors such as air pollution, green space, violence, and neighborhood social vulnerability not only contribute to preterm birth risk but also affect infants once they leave the NICU. His research underscores how the same exposures tied to prematurity continue to drive health disparities long after hospital discharge.Dr. Fraiman focuses on ADHD as a case study of inequity across the life course. He describes the “ADHD care cascade,” illustrating how systemic bias and structural racism impact recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of ADHD among children born preterm. The conversation highlights how inequities layer over time, widening gaps in health and educational outcomes.While the challenges are significant, the discussion also points to solutions—ranging from policy interventions and community partnerships to family-centered approaches. This episode emphasizes the urgent need to think upstream, addressing the drivers of inequity to create meaningful change for preterm infants and their 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 textThis episode sets the stage for a collection of conversations inspired by a recently published special issue in Children: Implications of Preterm Birth for Health and Well-Being Over the Life Course. Host Dr. Daphna Barbeau is joined by the editors, Dr. Susan Hintz and Dr. Jonathan Litt of Stanford University, to discuss why the concept of “life course” is so critical for understanding the long-term impact of preterm birth.Dr. Hintz and Dr. Litt explain how survival is only the beginning of the story. Preterm birth often shapes health trajectories well into childhood and adulthood, influenced not only by medical factors but also by family, environment, and community supports. They highlight how the issue’s twelve articles bring together diverse perspectives—from developmental science to family voices—that reveal both the challenges and opportunities faced by preterm infants and their families.For busy clinicians, this conversation reframes day-to-day NICU care within a broader, lifelong context. It shows how even routine interactions in the NICU can influence resilience, parental well-being, and future outcomes. More than an introduction, this episode is an invitation to think differently about what it means to care for premature infants—not just today, but across their entire life course.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!