The Incubator

Send us a textDeclining Incidence of Postoperative Neonatal Brain Injury in Congenital Heart Disease.Peyvandi S, Xu D, Barkovich AJ, Gano D, Chau V, Reddy VM, Selvanathan T, Guo T, Gaynor JW, Seed M, Miller SP, McQuillen P.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Jan 24;81(3):253-266. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.10.029.PMID: 36653093 Free PMC article.As 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 textDouble Jeopardy: A Distinct Mortality Pattern Among Preterm Infants with Congenital Heart Disease.Higgins BV, Levy PT, Ball MK, Kim M, Peyvandi S, Steurer MA.Pediatr Cardiol. 2025 Apr;46(4):939-946. doi: 10.1007/s00246-024-03519-4. Epub 2024 Jun 12.PMID: 38864860 Free PMC article.As 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. Rajesh Mehta  shares his extensive journey in pediatrics, detailing the evolution of newborn care in India, the challenges faced in providing quality healthcare, and the importance of continuous improvement in neonatal care practices. The conversation highlights the significant strides made in reducing neonatal mortality rates while addressing the ongoing challenges in healthcare infrastructure and quality of care. In this conversation, Dr. Mehta also discusses the importance of establishing frameworks for quality care in maternal and newborn health. He emphasizes the need for a national structure to support quality standards and the role of global initiatives in enhancing healthcare systems. The discussion also highlights  Point of Care Quality Improvement (POCQI) strategies that empower healthcare teams to improve care delivery without requiring additional resources. Dr. Mehta also addresses the significance of integrating quality improvement into training programs, the necessity of addressing upstream determinants of newborn mortality and the importance of  collaboration and teamwork in healthcare settings.Watch this episode on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azfg773hpD4&t=34sAs 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 special episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna welcome Dr. Malathi Balasundaram and Morgan Kowalski, key members of the Family-Centered Care (FCC) Task Force, to discuss the growing movement towards integrating families as active partners in neonatal care.Dr. Balasundaram, a neonatologist and chair of the FCC Task Force, explains that family-centered care goes beyond simple parental involvement—it requires caregivers to be equal members of the NICU team, engaged in every stage from antenatal care to discharge and beyond. Despite decades of evidence proving its benefits, family-centered care is still inconsistently implemented in many NICUs. The FCC Task Force was created to bridge this gap, providing hospitals with the resources, mentorship, and support needed to build or strengthen their programs.Morgan Kowalski, a former NICU parent turned program manager, shares her powerful personal experiences that shaped her advocacy. She describes how her active participation in her son’s care directly impacted his outcomes, underscoring the life-saving role of informed and engaged parents. She also highlights the Task Force’s rapid global growth, now spanning over 1,400 members across 46 countries, and the impact of its webinars, mentorship programs, and policy initiatives.This episode sheds light on the urgent need for cultural and systemic change in neonatal care. As more hospitals recognize that parents are not visitors, but essential caregivers, the FCC Task Force continues to push for widespread adoption of family-centered policies that improve both infant and family outcomes.Tune in to learn how this movement is revolutionizing NICU care and how you can be part of the change!  As 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 special Tech Tuesday episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Anthony Wu, CEO of Capnia, Inc., to explore how end-tidal carbon monoxide (ETCO) monitoring is impacting neonatal jaundice management. Anthony explains how this technology, based on decades of research, provides a real-time, non-invasive biomarker for hemolysis and thus indirectly, bilirubin production, allowing clinicians to better assess and predict neonatal jaundice severity. Unlike traditional serum bilirubin tests, which only measure bilirubin levels at a given time, ETCO screening gives insight into hemolysis rates, helping identify newborns at risk for severe jaundice before complications arise.Anthony shares his personal motivation behind this innovation, discussing how his own children experienced neonatal jaundice and how many families suffer the emotional and financial burden of this pathology. He envisions a future where universal ETCO screening becomes standard practice, allowing for earlier interventions and reducing the risk of preventable neurological damage.Tune in for an eye-opening discussion on how this innovation could change the way we approach neonatal jaundice forever! As 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 The Incubator’s Journal Club, hosts Ben and Daphna open with exciting announcements, including details on the upcoming Delphi Neonatal Innovation Conference and new video content for their “Beyond the Beeps” series on YouTube. They also share updates on the Board Review Podcast, geared toward both board preparation and ongoing learning in neonatology.The team’s first paper discussion highlights the ECLA trial from The Lancet, which examines higher versus lower CPAP levels for extubating extremely preterm infants. Ben and Daphna explore how higher CPAP may decrease extubation failure and the implications for clinical practice. Next, they review a large population-based study on intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), underscoring the persistently high rates of IVH in very preterm infants and emphasizing its impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes.They then welcome guest speaker Dr. Tim Barr from the University of Utah, who introduces the concept of end-tidal carbon monoxide monitoring as a noninvasive tool for detecting hemolysis and guiding bilirubin management. Dr. Barr explains how this method may help clinicians identify and treat high-risk neonates earlier. The discussion closes with a look at recent data on early hydrocortisone use in neonatal shock and a paper examining discrepancies between parental and medical classifications of neurodevelopmental impairment. Through in-depth research reviews and expert commentary, this episode showcases The Incubator’s commitment to advancing neonatal care. As 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 textIntraventricular Hemorrhage and Survival, Multimorbidity, and Neurodevelopment.Rees P, Gale C, Battersby C, Williams C, Carter B, Sutcliffe A.JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jan 2;8(1):e2452883. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52883.PMID: 39761048 As 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 textParental and Medical Classification of Neurodevelopment in Children Born Preterm.Richter LL, Janvier A, Pearce R, Bourque CJ, Church PT, Luu TM, Synnes A.Pediatrics. 2025 Feb 1;155(2):e2024066148. doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-066148.PMID: 39786567As 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 textEarly hydrocortisone verses placebo in neonatal shock- a double blind Randomized controlled trial.Dudeja S, Saini SS, Sundaram V, Dutta S, Sachdeva N, Kumar P.J Perinatol. 2025 Feb 13. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02222-3. Online ahead of print.PMID: 39948354As 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 textHigher versus lower nasal continuous positive airway pressure for extubation of extremely preterm infants in Australia (ÉCLAT): a multicentre, randomised, superiority trial.Kidman AM, Manley BJ, Boland RA, Malhotra A, Donath SM, Beker F, Davis PG, Bhatia R.Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2023 Dec;7(12):844-851. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(23)00235-3. Epub 2023 Oct 27.PMID: 38240784 Clinical Trial.As 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!