Deferred cord clamping (DCC) has been shown to significantly reduce mortality in preterm infants. It is therefore recommended as a standard practice in all preterm infants for a minimum duration of 60 seconds. Currently, this has been shown to be poorly implemented across all UK neonatal units. In addition to various factors underpinning this, there are practical difficulties in stabilising extreme preterm infants with an intact cord during DCC. In this article, we hope to provide some practical tips from our experience in successfully implementing this practice in our unit over the last 18 months.

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Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a complex condition characterised by a defect in the diaphragm through which the abdominal contents can herniate leading to compromise of fetal lung and cardiovascular development. In this article, we present three cases of suspected CDH in newborn infants in which further evaluation excluded CDH and confirmed alternate diagnoses.

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Deciding when to stop antibiotics in babies being treated for possible early onset infection can be challenging. This article is a systematic review of the role of procalcitonin as an aid to clinical decision making in these cases. The review was designed to investigate whether low procalcitonin levels at 24-48 hours of life, in apparently well term neonates, can enable clinicians to safely stop antibiotics in the absence of a positive blood culture.

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This paper provides a parent perspective of guilt on the special care baby unit (SCBU) through the voice of a mother of a premature baby, Arthur, born at 29⁺¹ weeks’ gestation. The focus of this piece is on the experience of having a ‘healthy’ preterm baby (defined by a stable condition and no complex medical or intervention needs) and what ‘guilt’ looks like from this view. There is an urgent need for future research to work more with fathers and the wider family to examine their roles better. The paper will incorporate evidence from previous literature to delineate facets of guilt and how an understanding of this can help clinicians to better support the individual needs of families. Recommendations will be made for how a knowledge of parent guilt could shape practice on the neonatal intensive care unit.

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