View clinical trials related to Birth Weight.
Filter by:Babies who require intensive care need to have their heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature measured continuously using specially designed monitors. These monitors allow the clinical team to constantly assess the baby and see if they are becoming unwell. However, these monitors each have separate wires to connect them to the baby. Another important part of care in these babies is being able to allow parents to hold their babies, getting them out of their incubators to be cuddled. This is called Kangaroo care and has been shown to impact on long term health for both babies and parents. We have designed a system to free babies of the wires that tether them to the monitors. This system has been tested in adults and we now want to test them on the babies. There are two study parts with two different questions: 1. How good is the data? This will compare the new wireless system with the existing system. Babies will have both standard wired monitors and the new wireless monitor on at the same time so we can compare the data to see how good is the quality of the data collected on the new system. 2. What do parents and staff think about the wireless system during Kangaroo care? Babies who no longer need monitoring (but who previously had been monitored with the wired system), will have the wireless system attached and the parent will take their baby from the cot for Kangaroo Care. After the baby has been placed back in the cot, we will conduct interviews with the parent and the nurse to find out what they thought of the new system. We hope this will help the investigators to understand about how good the data is we collect and how we might be able to improve the system.
The chief aim of the Swiss Neonatal Network & Follow-Up Group (SwissNeoNet) is to maintain and / or improve the quality and safety of medical care for high-risk newborn infants and their families in Switzerland through a coordinated program of research, education and collaborative audit. In support of its aim, SwissNeoNet hosts the official medical quality register for the Swiss level III and level IIB units. Participation for these units is mandatory according to the intercantonal declaration for Highly Specialized Medicine (HSM) of September 22, 2011 and the Society's Standards for Levels of Neonatal Care in Switzerland.
The Environmental Factors and Embryonic Development Project was set up to investigate environmental exposures and behavioral factors responsible for embryonic dysplasia and gestational complications in pregnant women.
Despite many advances in neonatal care in the recent years, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be the major cause of chronic lung morbidity in infants. The pathogenesis of BPD is multifactorial; however, inflammation remains the central pathway for all risk factors. Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3-LCPUFAs) from fish oil are known to down-regulate systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. Currently used soybean-based fatty acid emulsion (Intralipid) contains mainly n6-LCPUFA. Intralipid does not maintain the in-utero balanced LCPUFA accretion. Furthermore, Intralipid has been shown to increase free radical production and to be associated with BPD. A new fatty acid emulsion enriched with n3-LCPUFA (SMOFlipid) improves the fatty acid profile and reduces pro-inflammatory agents. This project aims primarily to study whether SMOFlipid can lower the rate of BPD in preterm infants compared to Intralipid.
Human Milk Fortifier (HMF) is designed to supply additional calories, protein, vitamins and minerals to infants less than 37 weeks gestation or those less than 1500 g at birth. Liquid and powder types of HMF are available in the commercial market. Usually, one packet of powdered HMF is mixed to 25-50 cc expressed breast milk. Fortification of human milk is technically difficult in fully breastfed infants and artificial teats such as bottle feedings are common used. A study reported lower breastfeeding rate in intervention group who used HMF in comparison with control. Finger feeding method is associated with a better breastfeeding rate in hospital use. A feasibility study in Vienna reports finger feeding method as a way to provide fortification at home was acceptable.We hypothesize that finger feeding is an easy way for HMF supplementation after discharge to increase successful breastfeeding and improve growth in preterm and or low birth weight infants.
This study will evaluate the effect of skin antisepsis and/or emollient therapy on bacterial colonization dynamics in very low birth weight, hospitalized infants. Bacterial swabs from 5 body sites will be collected at baseline, day 3, day 8 and day 13 following study arm assignment. Study outcomes include changes in bacterial colony counts, burden of gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens and overall skin score.
Vitamins A, D, and E play important roles in humans, such as vision function, immune function, bone metabolism, cell growth and differentiation and oxidation resistance. Deficiencies in these vitamins will result in a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, infection, bone diseases, etc. Preterm infants, especially very low birth weight infants, are at risk of vitamin deficiency. Intravenous perfusion is the most common and widely used method to supply vitamins for the specific population in early life. However, the current dose of vitamin supplied by intravenous perfusion whether can meet the need of growth and development is not sure and the appropriate dose for preterm infants is still uncertain. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether current dose of fat-soluble vitamin supplementation is enough for very low birth weight infants, the safety of high dose of fat-soluble vitamin supplementation, and compare the differences of prevalence of common complications, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, patent ductus arteriosus, sepsis, anemia, and neural development between these two groups.
Background: 1. Burden: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, complicate up to 10% of pregnancies worldwide, constituting one of the greatest causes of fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, low birth weight, perinatal mortality, and maternal morbidity and mortality. In Bangladesh, 24% of all maternal deaths are directly attributed to hypertensive causes. Conventional antenatal care practice often delays in or misses diagnosing hypertension in pregnancy, which makes the women vulnerable to its adverse consequences. 2. Knowledge gap: Although there are randomised controlled trials (RCT) of efforts directed at preventing development of hypertension in pregnancy or reducing its complications, there have been no published RCTs of the intervention focusing on regular monitoring of weight gain and blood pressure among pregnant women who are at risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy or its complications to ensure early diagnosis, and thereby optimizing the perinatal outcomes through prompt referral and management. 3. Relevance: To undertake an RCT of intervention to optimize adverse consequences in hypertension in pregnancy raises important practical concerns including: commitment of the enrolled women, the need to make a decision regarding participation due to longer duration of intervention and adherence to protocol. Investigators aim to perform this study to address whether an RCT of the intervention in individual patients is an appropriate trial design, and is feasible. Objectives: 1. To evaluate the accuracy of Salu Health Gauge device in measuring blood pressure. 2. To test the design, feasibility, acceptability and fidelity of a future definitive randomized controlled trial focusing on regular monitoring of weight gain and continuous self-monitoring of blood pressure among pregnant women who are at risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy. Methods: The study will be completed in two steps: 1) the validation of Salu Health Gauge and 2) the pilot trial. The study will be conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh. Salu Health Gauge device will be validated according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010 (ESH-IP revision 2010) in general adult population (including men and non-pregnant women) as well as in specific groups such as adolescents and pregnant women. The pilot trial is designed as a prospective, two-arm, parallel, and open-label randomized controlled external pilot trial. Eligible participants (pregnant women at risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy) will be individually randomized 1:1 to the intervention arm who will use a wearable device (Salu Health Gauge) from 20 weeks of gestation up to termination of pregnancy alongside conventional antenatal and postnatal care or the control arm who will receive conventional antenatal and postnatal care only. In Matlab, a woman is diagnosed as pregnant by HDSS field staff by 12-16 weeks of gestation and is enlisted. The investigators will obtain this list from HDSS and conduct baseline interviews to identify pregnant women at risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy. Outcome measures/variables: 1. Feasibility outcomes: Recruitment rate, Retention rate, compliance, Acceptability etc. 2. Clinical outcomes: gestational weight gain, birth weight, adverse consequence of hypertension in pregnancy (episodes or occurrence and when), blood pressure profile of high-risk pregnancies, prevalence of specific risk factors for hypertension in pregnancy 3. Serious adverse events
Preterm birth, or birth before 37 weeks' gestation, is increasingly common, occurring in 8 percent of pregnancies in Canada. Preterm birth is associated with many health complications, particularly when the birth happens before 29 weeks' gestation. At this gestational age, the lungs are not fully developed and it is not uncommon for infants to have problems breathing at the time of birth. One complication that can arise is when an infant stops breathing and needs to be resuscitated. When preterm babies need to be resuscitated doctors must take special care because of the small infant size and the immaturity of the brain and lungs. Oxygen is used to resuscitate babies who need it, but unfortunately there is disagreement about the best oxygen concentration to use. Oxygen concentration is important because both too much and too little oxygen can cause brain injury. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by participating in an international clinical trial to compare the effects of resuscitating babies less than 29 weeks' gestational age with either a low oxygen concentration or a high oxygen concentration. The oxygen concentrations have been selected using the best available knowledge. This will be a cluster randomized trial where each participating hospital will be randomized to either 30 or 60 percent oxygen for the recruitment of 30 infants, and afterwards randomized to the other group for the recruitment of another 30 infants. After the trial, the investigator will determine whether the babies resuscitated with low oxygen or those resuscitated with high oxygen have better survival and long-term health outcomes. This research fills a critical knowledge gap in the care of extremely preterm babies and will impact their survival both here in Canada and internationally.
BACKGROUND: Human milk (HM) is recommended for all very low birth infants (VLBW)). Breast-milk is highly variable in nutrient content, failing to meet the nutritional demands of VLBW. Fortification of HM is recommended to prevent extra-uterine growth retardation and associated poor neurodevelopmental outcome. However, standard fortification with fixed dose multicomponent fortifier does not account for the variability in milk composition. Targeted fortification is a promising alternative and needs further investigation. The aim of the study is to evaluate if targeted fortification of human milk may optimize growth and development in preterm infants. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized single blind controlled trial. METHODS & ANALYSIS: We will recruit preterm infants (≤ 32 weeks of gestation) within the first 7 days of life. After reaching 80 ml/kg/day of enteral feeding, patients will be randomised to receive standard fortification (HMF, Nutricia) or targeted fortification (modular components: Bebilon Bialko, Nutricia - protein, Fantomalt, Nutricia - carbohydrates, Calogen, Nutricia - lipids). The intervention will continue until 37 weeks of post-conception age, or hospital discharge. Parents and outcome assessors will be blinded to the intervention. The primary outcome - weight gain velocity will be measured starting from the day infants regain their birth weight up to 4 weeks, then weekly until discharge. Secondary outcomes such as neurodevelopment at 12 months of corrected age (CA) will be assessed with Bayley Scale of Development III, repeated at 36 months of CA. Additionally a Wescheler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence IV test will be applied at 3,5 years of CA. Secondary outcomes such as length and head growth, body composition will be assesed at discharge and at 4 months. Incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) will also be followed.