View clinical trials related to Prematurity.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to understand if the "DHA gap" can be corrected by giving a daily dose of DHA oil to preterm babies. DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid, which means our body cannot make DHA. We have to take it in through our diet. DHA is important for normal brain and eye health and it may also decrease inflammation. This is important for premature babies because they are at a greater risk for getting diseases related to inflammation, especially in their lungs, eyes and intestines. Since DHA is so important for normal growth, you will find DHA naturally in breast milk and it is now added to infant formula. But the amount in breast milk and infant formula is about half of what your infant should expect to get in the womb (about 13-29mg per day in breast milk vs. 50-75mg per day in the womb). Very premature babies are at an even greater disadvantage because they cannot always eat very much right away and that is the only way they can get essential fatty acids in their body. This means premature babies are getting less DHA than they would in the womb and then the "DHA gap" continues for a longer period of time. This gap also comes at a time when their brain is growing most rapidly and their bodies need it the most. This trial is designed to see if giving DHA, even before the baby can take food orally, will raise his/her DHA blood levels to those of normal term babies.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of pentatonic live music on physiological parameters in preterm infants.
Growth is poor in preterm infants, partly due to difficulty identifying when growth is slow. The investigators will examine the use of a computer program to try and identify periods of growth slowing in preterm babies, and compare those results to the usual assessments made on patient care rounds.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether providing increased protein to premature infants in the first week of life allows for better growth during the hospital stay and improved developmental outcomes by age 2.
Results from previous studies suggest the association between Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) and length of stay (LOS) reduction in a population of preterm infants. The primary objective of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of sham OMT in reducing LOS in a sample of preterm newborns, in order to investigate whether previous clinical results could be related to a hypothetical placebo effect.
Anemia in preterm neonates is a significant problem encountered frequently in the neonatal intensive care unit. Most preterm neonates born at less than 33 weeks gestation will require at least one blood transfusion during their hospital course and many will require repeated transfusions. Blood transfusions, albeit necessary, carry increased risk of viral infections and transfusion reactions as well as increase the cost of healthcare. The umbilical cord and placenta harbor up to 40% of blood available during fetal life. The current standard of care is immediate umbilical cord clamping. The investigators are performing a randomized controlled trial comparing immediate cord clamping to milking the umbilical cord prior to clamping in neonate born preterm less than 33 weeks gestation. The investigators hypothesize that milking the umbilical cord will demonstrate the same benefits as delayed cord clamping, without delaying neonatal resuscitation.
During the first four days of life, intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP) is elevated in the urine of premature babies who go on to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) days to weeks later. This study aims to determine whether the withholding of feedings in babies with an elevated urinary iFABP can reduce the incidence of NEC.
Initiating and sustaining breastfeeding are common challenges in neonatal units. It is known that hindmilk expressed at the end of the expression session has a higher fat content. Previous studies have shown that simultaneous pumping is more effective at producing milk than sequential pumping. However this approach is often felt uncomfortable by the mothers, and sequential pumping is preferred. The purpose of this study is to determine which modality of milk expression by electric pump is the most efficient and productive when sequential pumping is used.This is done by assessing the milk volume expressed per expression and its macronutrients content.
Preterm birth has been linked to certain types of vaginal infections. The goal of this study is to determine if giving women pregnant between 13-20 weeks with an elavated vaginal pH(evidence of this type of infection)Oral Clindamycin(an antibiotic)will have a lower rate of preterm birth compared to women given a placebo(starch)
The purpose of the study is to determine if earlier initiation of oral (by mouth as opposed to tube) feedings in premature infants results in earlier attainment of full oral feedings and/or discharge.