A new study of nearly 750 premature babies found that giving plasma to correct an abnormal blood-clotting test does not, on its own, protect against brain bleeding — and in the most premature infants, it may actually be linked to a higher chance of it. Using careful statistical methods designed to…

Premature babies born many weeks early often need extra oxygen to breathe, but too little or too much oxygen can each cause lasting harm. A major international study tested whether a computer that automatically fine-tunes a baby's oxygen level works better than a nurse adjusting it by hand. The…

Almost every baby born today to a mother living with HIV does not get the virus, which is one of the real triumphs of modern pregnancy care. Even so, doctors have wondered for years whether being exposed to HIV and to HIV medicines before birth leaves any lasting mark. Three studies published in…

When a baby is born after a difficult delivery and doctors diagnose a brain injury called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, parents are almost always asked to wait for answers about their child's future. New research suggests that a simple blood test, taken in the first two days of life, might one…

The hepatitis B birth dose is a vaccine given in a baby's first day of life to stop a liver virus passing from mother to child. Four studies published in 2025 and 2026 show that babies who get it on time are infected far less often, that it appears safe even for babies born very early, that some…

A small number of newborns do not get enough milk in their first days, lose too much water and end up with too much salt (sodium) in their blood. Three recent studies show which babies are most at risk, how serious this can become when it is noticed late, and how doctors can bring the salt level…

Whooping cough came back strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the babies hit hardest were only a few weeks old, too young for their own vaccines. New studies from Europe, the Gulf region and Asia show that when mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, their newborns are far better protected…

A new study looked at whether keeping extremely premature babies on an all-human-milk diet — their own mother's milk or donor milk, with no cow's-milk-based formula or booster — for a few extra weeks helps their brains grow and mature. The researchers compared brain scans and movement assessments…

A large new analysis of more than 234,000 newborns treated in America's children's hospital NICUs between 2017 and 2022 found that babies admitted to these units are, on average, sicker and more medically complex than before, and that the cost of their care has climbed accordingly. For families who…

Every day in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the care team gathers at a baby's bedside for "rounds" — the discussion of how the baby is doing and what comes next. Being there for that conversation is often a parent's clearest window into their baby's care, but distance, work schedules, and…

When a premature baby comes off a breathing machine, doctors usually switch to one of two gentle nose-based breathing aids. A new study found that one of these, NIPPV, was linked to slightly lower heart-pumping measurements than the other, NCPAP, in the first day afterward — though every baby…

Meningitis is an infection of the thin layers that wrap around the brain and spinal cord. Newborn babies catch it more often than people of any other age, and antibiotics usually clear the bacteria. The harder problem is the swelling and inflammation left behind, which can injure the brain even…