Search

Preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth remain two of the most important causes of death, morbidity, and disability in childhood. Despite efforts to reduce PTB and stillbirth worldwide, rates of these adverse outcomes remain persistently elevated, independent of income setting. There is an urgent need for more effective interventions to reduce associated neonatal and early childhood morbidity and mortality.

Maternal mental disorders have been associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as low birthweight and preterm birth, although these links have been examined rarely among Australian Aboriginal populations. We aimed to evaluate the association between maternal mental disorders and adverse perinatal outcomes among Aboriginal births.

Instability of peripheral oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) in preterm infants is correlated with late disability and is poorly understood. We hypothesised that a reduced ventilation to perfusion ratio (VA/Q) is the key predisposing factor for SpO2 instability.

This prospective longitudinal study examined changes in milk sodium concentration (Na) and sodium:potassium ratio (Na:K), microbiological culture, milk production, and breast health in relation to mastitis after preterm birth.

Parent-infant interactions provide the foundation for the development of infant socioemotional wellbeing. Preterm birth can have a substantial, and often detrimental, impact on the quality of early parent-infant interactions. Sensory processing difficulties, common in preterm infants, are further associated with poorer interaction quality.

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) collection is a non-invasive, safe method for measurement of biomarkers in patients with lung disease. Other methods of obtaining samples from the lungs, such as bronchoalveolar lavage, are invasive and require anaesthesia/sedation in neonates and infants. EBC is particularly appealing for assessing biomarkers in preterm-born infants, a population at risk of ongoing lung disease.

Although preterm birth is associated with later deficits in lung function, there is a paucity of information on geographical differences and whether improvements occur over time, especially after surfactant was introduced.

Preterm birth is increasingly recognised as adversely influencing lifelong lung function. This Series paper on prematurity-associated lung disease reviews studies reporting longitudinal lung function measurements in individuals who were born preterm. Evidence suggests that preterm birth alters lung function trajectories from early life onwards, with implications for future respiratory morbidity. We propose that this population needs rigorous follow up that should include systematic monitoring of lung function across the lifespan, starting in childhood.

Antibiotic exposure in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is high. This study describes antibiotic use in very preterm infants and examines the association between duration of exposure and outcomes in blood culture negative (CN) infants. 

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has been linked to vertical transmission, but systematic data are scarce. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic, clinical, and virological characteristics and assess the frequency and determinants of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with MPXV clade I infection.