Advances in Neonatal Care

From the Editors

Introduction – 2023(5)

Happy Fall – while we love summer, its time for Fall and for the NANN 2023 Annual Conference! Hope we see you there – we will have our own booth this year so please take the time to visit us with questions about how to publish your work or review manuscripts for Advances in Neonatal Care – the official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. Publishing your work, shares what you each are doing to improve neonatal care. In this issue, we have a lot of great content. We begin with a quality improvement project about one unit's journey to reduce noise in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We also have two different case studies, shared by practicing nurses. One is about an infant with Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and the other is using Bladder temperatures to monitor and manage body temperature. We also have a great article about use of simulation for education in the NICU. There are also several great research articles that are important to guiding clinical practice. The first is about whether using a tape measure or a length board is best for measuring infant length in the NICU. While you may think you already know the answer to this question, this research study provides a different perspective. We also have a study considering parent perspectives of care for their infant received in a multi-bed pod or in single-room design, again the findings are not all what you might predict they would be. We also have several other clinical research reports. One is related to implementation of family centered care and other is related to care of fathers. There is also one about nurse's perspectives of continuity of neonatology care – these findings could also be surprising to you. While diaper changes may not seem exciting to you – ANC has a new study about kidney oxygenations related to diaper changes. Check it out! If you don't see anything that could influence your care in the NICU, let us know. Or if you would like to see other topics we want to hear from you so we can make sure your journal meets your needs. Once again Happy Fall to each of you!!

Hot Topics

Hot off the Presses from Issue 4! To Feel Abandoned in an Insecure Situation: Parents' Experiences of Separation From Their Newborn Due to the Mother Being COVID-19 Positive

An important article that underscores that well-intended NICU practices that separate parents from their infants can be harmful. The authors provide practical recommendations to mitigate harm.

Hot off the Presses from Issue 4! NICU Visitation Time and Adherence to Safe Sleep Practices Among Mothers of Very Preterm Infants

This article highlights the complexity of parent decision making around sleep practices following hospital discharge. The time mothers spent in the NICU was not related to their adherence to safe sleep practices following hospital discharge suggesting the barriers to safe sleep are not related to knowledge about safe sleep.

Inclusion of Spanish-Speaking Families in NICU Symptom Research Using a Community Advisory Board

Ensuring participation in research from diverse families is essential to understanding the needs of all families. This study describes the use of a community advisory board to prepare for transcreation of research study materials. Accurate and culturally appropriate transcreation of study measures can reduce barriers to research participation and enhance communication with non-English speaking families.

A Scoping Review of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal and the Infant Gut Microbiome: Does Human Milk Optimize Infant Outcomes?

While research suggests there is a the protective role of human milk to the development of the infant gut microbiome, it is not known if this association is true for infants with opioid withdrawal syndrome. This literature review aimed to summarize the evidence regarding the influence of human milk on infant gut microbiota in infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. However, with no studies found the authors lay out suggestions for further scientific inquiry in this area.

Encourage, Assess, Transition (EAT): A Quality Improvement Project Implementing a Direct Breastfeeding Protocol for Preterm Hospitalized Infants
Improving direct breastfeeding for preterm infants is an area many NICUS are trying to address. This article provides a successful strategy for supporting these infants and their mothers in getting these infants to breast sooner, and more often while they are still hospitalized in the NICU.

Agreement of the Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) With NICU Nurses' Assessments
The Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation scale (NPASS) is used to monitor pain for high-risk infants in many NICUs around the globe. This study examines how this scale score correlates with nursing assessments. Understanding how the tool is being used and how it influences nursing care is important to finding ways to better use this tool in the management of neonatal pain.