Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2024-10-26DOI: 10.1038/s41372-024-02156-2
S K Kukora, T Branche, E R Miller, N Henner, V Kapadia, M F Haward
{"title":"Supporting parents' emotional and mental health in the antenatal consultation.","authors":"S K Kukora, T Branche, E R Miller, N Henner, V Kapadia, M F Haward","doi":"10.1038/s41372-024-02156-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-024-02156-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Supporting parents' emotional and mental health is crucial during antenatal consultations, in which expectant parents often receive serious news about their infant and sometimes face complex antenatal or postnatal decision-making. Being considerate of the circumstances to mitigate barriers and stressors, utilizing clear and sensitive language, and personalizing counseling and decision-making to support parents' pluralistic values are strategies that individual neonatologists can use to promote parents' mental wellness in these encounters. Partnership with clinicians of other disciplines and professions in antenatal consultations can help in providing additional medical information and parent support; however, care must be coordinated within the team to ensure that confusing or conflicting counseling is avoided. In addition to improving communication skills for these encounters as individuals and teams, opportunities also exist to enhance support of parents' mental health at the institutional and national level.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"705-712"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12032062/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142502497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2024-10-22DOI: 10.1038/s41372-024-02136-6
Michael Guindon, Dalia M Feltman, Carrie Litke-Wager, Elizabeth Okonek, Kaitlyn T Mullin, Uchenna E Anani, Peter D Murray Ii, Christopher Mattson, Jeanne Krick
{"title":"Development of a checklist for evaluation of shared decision-making in consultation for extremely preterm delivery.","authors":"Michael Guindon, Dalia M Feltman, Carrie Litke-Wager, Elizabeth Okonek, Kaitlyn T Mullin, Uchenna E Anani, Peter D Murray Ii, Christopher Mattson, Jeanne Krick","doi":"10.1038/s41372-024-02136-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-024-02136-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Shared decision-making (SDM) between parents facing extremely preterm delivery and the medical team is recommended to develop the best course of action for neonatal care. We aimed to describe the creation and testing of a literature-based checklist to assess SDM practices for consultation with parents facing extremely preterm delivery.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>The checklist of SDM counseling behaviors was created after literature review and with expert consensus. Mock consultations with a standardized patient facing extremely preterm delivery were performed, video-recorded, and scored using the checklist. Intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbach's alpha were calculated.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>The checklist was moderately reliable for all scorers in aggregate. Differences existed between subcategories within classes of scorer, and between scorer classes. Agreement was moderate between expert scorers, but poor between novice scorers. Internal consistency of the checklist was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This novel checklist for evaluating SDM shows promise for use in future research, training, and clinical settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"732-738"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12263426/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142502486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02280-7
Ruben Vaidya, Paul Visintainer, Rachana Singh
{"title":"Feasibility of volume targeted- positive pressure ventilation for preterm infants requiring invasive ventilation in the delivery room.","authors":"Ruben Vaidya, Paul Visintainer, Rachana Singh","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02280-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02280-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) with high variability in delivered tidal volume (TV) may cause volutrauma. We aimed to assess feasibility of providing Volume Targeted-Positive Pressure Ventilation (VT-PPV) to preterm infants receiving invasive mechanical ventilation via endotracheal tube in the delivery room (DR).</p><p><strong>Design/methods: </strong>TV measurements were available from a respiratory function monitor (RFM) to adjust peak inspiratory pressures to target TV of 4-6 ml/kg for participants in the intervention cohort (VT-PPV). This data was compared with a historic cohort (HC), where providers were blinded from RFM measurements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>With VT-PPV, goal TV (4-6 ml/kg) was provided 40.1% of times (vs. HC:23.6%, p = 0.002); low TV (<4 ml/kg) was provided 8.6% of times (vs. HC:28.1%, p ≤ 0.001). There was no difference in higher TV provided in the two cohorts.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Providing VT-PPV in intubated preterm infants may be feasible in DR and may result in increased number of breaths in target range.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"812-816"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143730510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2024-11-09DOI: 10.1038/s41372-024-02166-0
Eric A Raynal, Isabella K Pallotto, Jennifer M Brady, DonnaMaria E Cortezzo, Ellen A Lipstein
{"title":"Balancing survival and suffering: factors influencing parental decision making after periviable consultation.","authors":"Eric A Raynal, Isabella K Pallotto, Jennifer M Brady, DonnaMaria E Cortezzo, Ellen A Lipstein","doi":"10.1038/s41372-024-02166-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-024-02166-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The objective of this study was to identify factors birthing parents consider related to potential resuscitation of a periviable infant.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Birthing parents who received a prenatal consult from a newborn intensive care unit provider between 22.0 and 24.6 weeks gestational age were eligible to participate in a semi-structured interview focused on their periviable decision making. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using thematic content analysis.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Qualitative analysis shows that birthing parents attribute their decision to a balance between vitality and suffering, with the balance point influenced by various elements. While parents described the choice they made, none reported that the information they received during the prenatal consult had a significant impact.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the minimal impact that information given during a periviable consult has on parental decision making. Information from this study can be used to develop an improved model of perinatal consultation.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"739-744"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-04DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02245-w
Elliott Mark Weiss, Devan M Duenas, Andrea Kelsh, Megan M Gray, Ellie Oslin, Devinae Mcneil, Sandra E Juul, Stephanie A Kraft
{"title":"Piloting the better research interactions for every family (BRIEF) researcher intervention to support recruitment for a neonatal clinical trial: parent experience and infant enrollment.","authors":"Elliott Mark Weiss, Devan M Duenas, Andrea Kelsh, Megan M Gray, Ellie Oslin, Devinae Mcneil, Sandra E Juul, Stephanie A Kraft","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02245-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02245-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Recruiting for neonatal clinical trials is difficult for families and participation rates are low. We partnered with the DIVI (Darbepoetin plus slow-release IntraVenous Iron) trial for pilot feasibility evaluation of the BRIEF (Better Research Interactions for Every Family) intervention.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Pre/post design to compare infant data and parent surveys and interviews before and after the BRIEF intervention as well as comparing DIVI enrolled and DIVI not enrolled.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Enrollment rates and parental experiences were similar in pre- and post-BRIEF eras. Most respondents reported positive interactions with researchers. Parents who declined DIVI reported somewhat worse experiences compared to those who enrolled. Interview respondents reported widely variable experiences. The narrow enrollment window emerged as particularly important to parents' recruitment experience.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The BRIEF intervention was well received and is ready for larger scale testing to assess its impact on parental experience and enrollment rates. Future work should address short enrollment windows common in neonatal clinical trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"773-789"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143557197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02255-8
Jessica Lyon, Natalie McAndrew, Alexis Geich, Tala AbuZahra, Steven R Leuthner, Joanne Lagatta, Krishna Acharya
{"title":"Voices of parents of children with major congenital anomalies admitted to the NICU: initial diagnosis, hospitalization, and discharge home.","authors":"Jessica Lyon, Natalie McAndrew, Alexis Geich, Tala AbuZahra, Steven R Leuthner, Joanne Lagatta, Krishna Acharya","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02255-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02255-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To identify challenges vs. supports in the NICU and after NICU discharge for parents of an infant with a major congenital anomaly.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Qualitative study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We interviewed 18 parents (13 mothers, 5 fathers) whose children were admitted to our our NICU with a major congenital anomaly. In the NICU, challenges were navigating parenthood with significant impact on parent mental health, adjusting to changing healthcare providers, and need for better interdisciplinary communication. After discharge home, challenges were an initial adjustment to life without NICU monitoring, loss of NICU medical resources, burden of caregiving, continued healthcare utilization, and financial impact.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Key supports that were helpful to families were empathetic and consistent healthcare teams throughout their care journey, especially nurses; healthcare team members who went beyond medical care, consistent communication, parent engagement in NICU care, ongoing parent mental health support, and peer resources after discharge home.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"755-766"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143557200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02299-w
Jeanne A Krick, Erin L Rholl, Katherine Press Callahan, Kelly W Harris, Elliott Mark Weiss
{"title":"Uncertainties in the NICU: a scoping review to inform a tailored taxonomy.","authors":"Jeanne A Krick, Erin L Rholl, Katherine Press Callahan, Kelly W Harris, Elliott Mark Weiss","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02299-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02299-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Our objective was to conduct a scoping review of the literature to inform a modified taxonomy of uncertainty in the NICU, for the purpose of better identifying and defining different experiences of uncertainty for parents and medical teams. We conducted a systematic literature search for studies examining an element of uncertainty in the NICU. Data extraction was guided by Han's taxonomy of uncertainty and a thematic analysis informed the modified taxonomy. We included 55 articles, leading to three major alterations of Han's taxonomy. We believe this modified taxonomy of uncertainty in the NICU provides a more nuanced understanding of the specific uncertainties faced in this context, leading to a better understanding of the different needs of families and medical teams. It also highlights the need for targeted strategies to further explore and manage these uncertainties.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"713-725"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12263310/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144000884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-05-20DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02318-w
M T Alferink, H Hoeben, N H Jonkman, J B van Goudoever, A A M W van Kempen, N R van Veenendaal, S R D van der Schoor
{"title":"Family integrated care reduces stress in transferred parents of preterm infants, but not across all families: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial.","authors":"M T Alferink, H Hoeben, N H Jonkman, J B van Goudoever, A A M W van Kempen, N R van Veenendaal, S R D van der Schoor","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02318-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02318-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess whether Family Integrated Care (FICare) model including Family-Centered Rounds (FCR) reduces parental stress in neonatal wards.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A multicenter, stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial was conducted in ten level II neonatal wards in The Netherlands (March 2022-December 2023). Participants included parents of 613 infants hospitalized for ≥7 days. The primary outcome was parental stress at discharge (PSS:NICU scale). Secondary outcomes included parental participation, anxiety, trauma, depression, shared decision-making, and bonding.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>FICare significantly increased parental participation (P < 0.001) but did not reduce overall stress at discharge (FICare 61.2 vs. SNC 62.5, P = 0.21). Trauma symptoms in partners decreased (P = 0.03), and parents of transferred infants showed reduced stress (P = 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>While FICare improved parental involvement, overall stress reduction was limited, with benefits seen in reduced trauma symptoms in partners and a reduction of stress in parents of transferred infants.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>The trial has been registered at Clinical Trials.gov under registration number NCT05343403.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"797-805"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144208727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-15DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02239-8
M Claire Manske, Machelle D Wilson, Barton L Wise, Herman L Hedriana, Joy Melnikow, Daniel J Tancredi
{"title":"Are racial and ethnic disparities in brachial plexus birth injuries explained by known risk factors?","authors":"M Claire Manske, Machelle D Wilson, Barton L Wise, Herman L Hedriana, Joy Melnikow, Daniel J Tancredi","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02239-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02239-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the association of maternal race/ethnicity with risk factors for brachial plexus birth injury (BPBI) and quantify the proportion of excess BPBI risk due to these factors.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This retrospective cohort study of all livebirths occurring in California-licensed hospitals from 1996-2012 included 6,278,562 maternal-livebirth infant pairs with 7762 BPBI diagnoses. Multiple logistic regression and causal mediation analyses were used to evaluate the relationship of race/ethnicity and BPBI risk factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Black and Hispanic birthing-individuals were at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and limited prenatal care utilization but decreased risk of many BPBI risk factors (shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, prolonged second stage of labor, and vaginal delivery).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Black and Hispanic birthing-individuals were at lower risk of many strongly associated risk factors for BPBI, and these factors mediate only a small proportion of their excess BPBI risk, underscoring the importance of identifying alternative risk factors, especially drivers of demographic disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"790-796"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12263424/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143633940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of PerinatologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-02-04DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02219-y
Satyan Lakshminrusimha, Robin H Steinhorn
{"title":"Is it time for a separate residency and department in \"Neonatal Critical Care Medicine\"?","authors":"Satyan Lakshminrusimha, Robin H Steinhorn","doi":"10.1038/s41372-025-02219-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41372-025-02219-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent changes in pediatric residency curriculum require reductions in the duration of NICU rotations. Low interest in pediatrics among medical students coupled with reduced exposure to neonatology during residency are likely to decrease applications to neonatology fellowships. We propose a separate neonatal critical care residency combining 1-2 years of pediatrics followed by 3 years of neonatology rotations (total 4-5 years) to enhance recruitment. There is also a need to reengage the neonatology community to be role models and inspire and attract medical students to neonatology. Academic neonatology is facing a crisis. Long hours, high productivity expectations, and significantly lower compensation compared to non-academic settings is contributing to physician disengagement. A transparent cFTE definition, better governing structure, strategic allocation of resources to recruit, retain and nurture neonatal physician-scientists and engaged clinician-educators are needed. If these measures are not effective, a separate department of neonatal critical care medicine should be considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":16690,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatology","volume":" ","pages":"867-872"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143189710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}