The early postnatal weight loss (EPWL) is highly variable in the extremely low birth weight infants (birth weight <1000 g, ELBW). It is reported to be unassociated with adverse outcomes within a range of 3- 21% of birth weight. Its wide range migh...
Background: Pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity in reproductive-aged women becomes a growing tendency in middle- and high-income populations. This study aimed to evaluate whether maternal excess body mass index (BMI) before gestation is associated w...
Background/Objectives: Sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC) is a rare but catastrophic event affecting apparently healthy neonates during the first days of life. Therapeutic hypothermia has been increasingly applied in this setting due to path...
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis coordinates metabolic, immune, and behavioral responses to a changing environment. Its molecular effectors are the nuclear receptors for glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids (the GRs/MRs), e...
Objectives: Prenatal diagnosis of horseshoe kidney (HSK), a common congenital renal fusion anomaly of the upper urinary tract, remains challenging. Most cases are identified only after birth; however, the clinical significance of prenatal detection a...
Pyelectasis, also known as renal pelvic dilatation or hydronephrosis, is frequently found on fetal ultrasound. This study correlated prenatally-detected, moderate pyelectasis with postnatal outcomes. This retrospective, observational study was conduc...
Background/Objectives: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary renal disorder; it is typically diagnosed in adulthood, but occasionally presents antenatally as very-early onset ADPKD. Despite advances in pre...
Objective: To assess the prenatal course and early postnatal outcomes of fetuses diagnosed with tricuspid atresia and to identify predictors of survival. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 25 fetuses diagnosed with tricuspid atresia in a sing...
Being born small or large for gestational age (SGA and LGA, respectively), combined with suboptimal early postnatal outcomes, can entail future metabolic alterations. The exact mechanisms underlying such risks are not fully understood. Lipids are a h...
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy causes a wide spectrum of congenital abnormalities and postnatal developmental sequelae such as fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), microcephaly, or motor and neurodevelopmental disorders....
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate prenatal ultrasound features, fetal postnatal outcomes, and the need for postnatal surgery in the suspicion of ovarian torsion. Methods: We included patients with a singleton pregnancy with a suspicio...
Thyroxine (T4) importantly regulates the growth of newborns. Compared to fetuses with equivalent gestational ages, very preterm infants (VPIs) often experience relatively low thyroxinemia, with a normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration...
Orofacial clefts include cleft lip (CL) and cleft palate (CP). This retrospective study assessed the efficacy of prenatal sonographic diagnosis of isolated and non-isolated cases of CL/CP and the postnatal outcomes of these children. Data regarding p...
Objective: To determine whether early structural brain trajectories predict early childhood neurodevelopmental deficits in complex CHD patients and to assess relative cumulative risk profiles of clinical, genetic, and demographic risk factors across...
The care of infants at risk of poor growth and development is a global priority. To inform new WHO guidelines update on prevention and management of growth faltering among infants under six months, we examined the effectiveness of postnatal maternal...
Background/Objectives: To evaluate the association between cumulative dexamethasone dose (CDD) and long-term outcomes in extremely preterm infants (EPIs, gestational age <28 weeks). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 518 E...
Extremely preterm infants often require prolonged respiratory support due to lung immaturity and inflammation, placing them at high risk of lung injury and development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In many of these infants, systemic postnatal...
Background: Postnatal corticosteroids (CS) improve respiratory outcomes in preterm infants, but effects on growth and neurodevelopment remain incompletely understood. Methods: This third instalment of a narrative review series builds on physiologic p...
Postnatal depression (PND) is a critical mental health issue that affects approximately one in seven women and has a profound impact on infant bonding and family dynamics. Despite its prevalence, PND often goes undiagnosed as a result of ignorance an...
Sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC) is a rare event, potentially associated with catastrophic consequences. Since the beginning of the 2000s, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has been proposed as a treatment for asphyxiated neonates after SUPC. H...
Background: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is increasingly recognized as a detectable finding during routine fetal echocardiography. Although previous studies have explored its potential role as an indirect marker for congenital heart disease (CHD) in...
We analyzed and compared variations in the urinary metabolome, as well as postnatal clinical outcomes among preterm infants, based on the timing of antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) administration in response to preterm labor onset in their mothers. Thi...
The management of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature infants remains a significant debate in neonatology. Interventions aimed at accelerating ductal closure, often using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen, are com...
Purpose: To synthesize all existing literature on the association between sodium disturbances during the first 10 days of life in Extremely-Low-Birth-Weight (ELBW) infants and the risk of developing severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH > grade...
Early life stress (ES) increases the risk to develop metabolic and brain disorders in adulthood. Breastfeeding (exclusivity and duration) is associated with improved metabolic and neurocognitive health outcomes, and the physical properties of the die...
Background: In recent decades, the incidence of depression has gradually increased in the general population globally. Depression is also common during gestation and could result in detrimental gestational complications for both the mother and the fe...
Background/Objectives: Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mother and infant is known to promote breastfeeding initiation and early bonding. However, evidence regarding the sustained effects of daily SSC during the postpartum period on breastfeeding o...
The dramatic increase in the prevalence of allergic disease in recent decades reflects environmental and behavioural changes that have altered patterns of early immune development. The very early onset of allergic diseases points to the specific vuln...
Breastfeeding provides the ideal nutrition in infancy, and its benefits extend to the health of mothers. Psychosocial factors such as the intention to breastfeed, self-efficacy, or maternal confidence to breastfeed have been shown to impact breastfee...
Abnormalities of the left brachiocephalic vein (LBCVA) are rare and poorly studied prenatally. An association with congenital heart defects (CHD), extracardiac and genetic abnormalities was described. The aim of our study was to estimate the rate and...
The present study provides our clinical experience regarding the imaging diagnosis, management and postnatal outcome of neonates prenatally suspected of having developed ovarian cysts. This multicenter observational study included patients diagnosed...
Background/Objectives: Abnormalities in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) can occur during respiratory support and may contribute to adverse neonatal outcomes. This study aimed to assess the incidence of early hypocapnia and hypercapnia i...
Maternal overnutrition and targeted supplements during pregnancy strongly affect fetal development in beef cattle, influencing gene expression, tissue development, and productivity after birth. As modern feeding practices often result in cows receivi...
Background/Objectives: Exclusive breastfeeding offers optimal benefits for infant nutrition and health and increases maternal involvement, bonding and interactions. This study aimed to explore breastfeeding practices among mothers in Romania and iden...
16 August 2022
Knowledge of the impact of in utero exposure to lithium during the postnatal period is limited. Besides a possible teratogenic effect during the first trimester, exposure during the second and third trimesters might lead to neonatal effects. Uniform...
(1) Background: Severe fetal hydrothorax can be treated by intrauterine thoracoamniotic shunting (TAS). The aim of this study was to assess perinatal outcome and complication rates of TAS with a novel Somatex intrauterine shunt. (2) Methods: This is...
In this study, we evaluated the effect of embryo vitrification using two different devices on adulthood phenotype in rabbits. In vitro development, prenatal embryo survival, body weight, growth performance, haematological and biochemical peripheral b...
Background and Objectives: Myelomeningocele is the most severe form of spina bifida, a congenital neural tube defect arising from an incomplete neural tube closure during early development with damage worsening with advancing gestational age. The Man...
21 January 2023
The international literature has shown that maternal and paternal postnatal depression (PND) is one of the most common mental illnesses in the perinatal period, with significant consequences for parent–infant relationships and infant developmen...
Background: Omphalocele is a congenital defect of the anterior abdominal wall frequently associated with additional anomalies that substantially influence neonatal outcomes. Cardiovascular and pulmonary abnormalities are among the most clinically rel...
Extrauterine Growth Restriction (EUGR) refers to inadequate growth during hospitalization. Current definitions for EUGR are varied and can be classified as cross-sectional (weight at a given t-time <10th centile) or longitudinal (weight loss betwe...
The study assessed how the timing of maternal perinatal depressive symptoms affects infant socio-emotional characteristics at age 18 months. The study was a longitudinal cohort study that included six assessment points from the third trimester of pre...
Background and Objectives: In the last decades, simultaneously increasing trends have been recorded for both caesarean section delivery and childhood overweight/obesity around the world, which are considered serious public health concerns, negatively...
Male and female infants respond differentially to environmental stimuli, with different growth and neurodevelopmental trajectories. Male infants are more likely to be disadvantaged when subjected to adversity and show a higher risk of perinatal compl...
Nowadays, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are considered valuable contributors to our past, but a future without their use is inconceivable. However, in recent years, several studies have evidenced a potential impact of ART on long-term dev...
Fetal growth is regulated by a complex interaction of maternal, placental, and fetal factors. The effects and outcomes that chemicals, widely distributed in the environment, may have on the health status of both the mother and the fetus are not yet w...
Twin-bearing pregnancies of sheep reared in harsh environmental conditions result in maternal undernutrition and feto-maternal oxidative stress, leading to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). We assessed the efficiency of supplementation with ant...
This study aimed to investigate the impact of early erythropoietin (EPO) administration on the neurodevelopment of newborns, specifically focusing on its effects on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). The prim...
Background/Objectives: The impact of postnatal CMV infection in extremely premature newborns is poorly characterized. We aimed to determine the impact and outcomes of postnatal CMV infection in a population of extremely premature newborns of gestatio...
15 August 2026
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has high maternal and neonatal mortality rates and only a third of mothers and newborns have a postpartum or postnatal care visit. Increasing male participation and enhancing women’s autonomy are strat...
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