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The incidence and severity of heatwaves are increasing globally with concomitant health complications. Pregnancy is a critical time in the life course at risk of adverse health outcomes due to heat exposure. Dynamic physiological adaptations, which include altered thermoregulatory pathways, occur in pregnancy.
Preterm birth and subsequent neonatal ventilatory treatment disrupts development of the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR). An attenuated HVR has been identified in preterm neonates, however it is unknown whether the attenuation persists into the second year of life.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a component of neural tissue. Because its accretion into the brain is greatest during the final trimester of pregnancy, infants born before 29 weeks' gestation do not receive the normal supply of DHA. The effect of this deficiency on subsequent cognitive development is not well understood.
Increasingly, preterm-born children are entering adulthood as survival at earlier gestational ages improves. However, there is little understanding of the lived experience in preterm-born adults.
There is limited evidence regarding the optimal time to commence parenteral nutrition in term and late preterm infants.
Childhood outcomes following preterm birth are widely published, however long-term adult outcomes are less well described. We aimed to determine the quality of life and burden of co-morbidities experienced by preterm-born young adults in Western Australia.
Normal in utero lung development and growth rely upon the expansion of airspaces and the controlled efflux of lung liquid into the amniotic space. Infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) also have lung hypoplasia due to occupation of the chest cavity by the stomach and bowel and, in the most severe cases, the liver. Balloon tracheal occlusion reduces the severity of lung hypoplasia in fetuses with CDH but increases the risk of premature birth.
Many survivors of preterm birth will have abnormal lung development, reduced peak lung function and, potentially, an increased rate of physiological lung function decline, each of which places them at increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease across the lifespan.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children worldwide. The highest incidence of severe disease is in the first 6 months of life, with infants born preterm at greatest risk for severe RSV infections.
Data on static compliance of the chest wall (Ccw) in preterm infants are scarce. We characterized the static compliance of the lung and Ccw to determine their relative contribution to static compliance of the respiratory system in very preterm infants at 36 wk postmenstrual age. We also aimed to investigate how these compliances were influenced by the presence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and impacted breathing variables.