Infant Journal
for neonatal and paediatric healthcare professionals

Infant journal is the leading UK publication for the multidisciplinary team that cares for vulnerable sick or premature babies in their first year of life. Published bi-monthly, the journal contains authoritative articles with a clinical or practical bias written by experts in their field.

Abstracts of all articles are freely accessible by using the site search, or by browsing back issues. The full text of articles published from 2005 until September 2022 are available free of charge.

Recent issues are available on subscription via our online shop.

Current issue: September/October 2024

Congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and neonatal hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia
Natalie Fairhurst, Ahmad Alhamad, Haytham Ali
An incidental finding of a congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (CPSS) on an abdominal ultrasound scan identified the cause of neonatal hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (HH). We present the development of clinical presentation, differential diagnosis and subsequent management of a case of CPSS. We provide an explanatory illustration of the pathophysiology of CPSS and HH, highlighting the importance of long-term follow-up of infants who suffer HH early in life.

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Use of size 4fr nasal gastric feeding tubes on the neonatal unit
Kirstie Flucker
The aim of this report is to show how to deliver the safest care to our babies on the neonatal unit by considering introducing the use of size 4fr enteral feeding tubes. Enteral feeding is a major part of neonatal care at St Peter’s Hospital. This report will show how literature supports use of enteral feeding as the preferred method to provide nutrition for preterm babies. Enteral feeding provides both nutritional and non-nutritional benefits, such as helping to develop brain growth, promoting maturity of the gut and reducing inflammation.1

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A newborn with a massive subgaleal haematoma and a rare haematological diagnosis
Dr S.P.N. Weerasekara, Dr Udoka Asoh
Congenital factor xiii deficiency is an extremely rare bleeding disorder, which is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.1,5 Factor xiii is the key element in the terminal end of the coagulation cascade that ensures the stability of blood clot formation.1 Delayed bleeding (12 to 36 hours) after trauma or surgery is the pathognomonic feature of factor xiii deficiency.2 Here, we report on a term neonate with congenital factor xiii deficiency, who was diagnosed following significant delayed bleeding tendencies in the form of subgaleal haemorrhage and subcutaneous bleeding on the dorsum of the left hand, severe enough to drop the haemoglobin drastically to 62g/L, requiring urgent blood transfusion.

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Back-to-sleep or tummy time? Positioning of premature infants and its impact
Fiona Allison, Surabhi Kumar, Raju Sunderesan
The primary goal of infant positioning in the neonatal unit is to mimic the in utero environment. This article will consider this in relation to musculoskeletal development, cerebral perfusion, sleep promotion and cardiorespiratory stability. The practical application of positioning ideals will also be addressed.

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Full articles available from the current issue ...

Open access:

From the September 2022 edition

 FREE  Investigating heart murmurs in neonates and children: reinvigorating the art of clinical medicine
Vikranth Bapu Anna Venugopalan

Heart murmurs are common in neonates and children; however, it is important to differentiate between an innocent murmur and a pathological murmur. Heart murmurs can arise from abnormalities of the cardiac valves and other cardiac structures resulting in abnormal, turbulent blood flow that causes an audible extra sound. Nowadays, clinicians rely more on an echocardiogram than on their clinical skills, yet careful auscultation of heart murmurs can characterise the nature of a murmur and aid the diagnosis of many cardiac conditions. This article reviews the role of heart murmurs in congenital heart disease, and how to evaluate and characterise heart murmurs. A comparison of pathological heart murmurs is provided along with a description of investigations and suggestions for when to refer heart murmurs for detailed cardiac assessment, which includes an echocardiogram.

 FREE  Navigating between technological and relational practice in neonatal care
Davy Evans

 FREE  Neonatal staff virtual debriefs: tips and pitfalls
Sarah Chan, Sarah-Jane Archibald

 FREE  The PAIR trial: is paracetamol the way forward in management of hsPDA?
Arin Mukherjee, Ruth Gottstein, Anupam Gupta

Use our site search to find more 'open access' Infant articles

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Embrace neonatal MRI system: mitigating infection risk in the NICU

Published in Volume 16/Issue 3, May 2020

Supplier Guide

Our supplier guide provides a searchable database of companies involved in supporting the care of sick and premature infants, grouped by product or service category. You can search by an area of activity, company name or by a combination of these.

Nutricia Ltd

Nutricia Ltd

is proud sponsor of our Supplier Guide's Nutrition section.

In the latest news...

How a Yeovil doctor is helping to save babies’ lives in Afghanistan

October 7, 2024
Two years ago, Dr Michael Fernando, consultant paediatrician and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s associate medical director at Yeovil Hospital, was asked by the Rotary International President’s Special Representative to Afghanistan, Katerina Kotsali-Papadimitriou, to run the ‘Helping Babies Breathe’ programme in Afghanistan, along with Rotary clubs in Afghanistan – led by Rameen Javid from Rotary Kabul City.

Learning from maternity incidents must be prioritised says RCM as it responds to latest CQC report

October 7, 2024
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has called on the Government to act quickly and effectively to improve maternity safety, following a new report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Services should be better supported to learn not only from where things go wrong but learning from best practice too, RCM says.

Parents report ‘positive feedback’ on bereavement care in Scotland

September 5, 2024
The National Bereavement Care Pathway in Scotland has been praised by bereaved families and health professionals caring for bereaved families, who took part in an evaluation of bereavement care in Scotland. A recently published report shows that bereavement care improved following the introduction of the pathway in Scotland.