Active clinical trials for "Premature Birth"

The purpose of this study is to characterize the normal brain function of premature infants (23 to 31+6 weeks GA) during birth transition and through the first 72 hours of life.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential role of the enteral feeding systems on the bacterial colonization of premature infants during their NICU admittance and its evolution after 2 years, which is the age when the infant's gut starts to contain an adult-like microbiota.

This study aims for an in-depth characterization of human milk of mothers who delivered prematurely to decipher differences with milk of mothers who delivered at the expected term, with a particular focus on milk proteins

Quantitative information on the biomechanical properties of the ecto-cervix in mid-pregnancy will be compared between women with term vs. preterm delivery. We aim to demonstrate that biomechanical data (ASP and CCI) might complement morphological data (CL) to improve prediction of preterm delivery. It is expected that women with preterm delivery will show stronger weakening of cervical tissue. Aspiration (ASP) and cervical CCI (cervical consistency index) measurements are performed at mid-pregnancy: detection at this time point is useful for therapy and biomechanical modifications are already significant so to enable differentiation by biomechanical measurements (ASP and CCI).

The survival of premature babies increased during the last decades. However, the neurocognitive long term development of these children is worrying, as demonstrated by EPIPAGE 1 study. These children present high risk of deficits such as cognitive deficits, adaptive malfunction, behavior disorders and difficulties in school learning. Understanding the specific neuropsychological disorders at the origin of these deficits is an important objective. Studies realized at school age showed that many premature children have executive functions (EF) disorders. However the specific nature of these disorders and the neuropathology associated are unknown. The aim of this study is to realise MRI at term age in preterm babies born less than 32 GA and to correlate MRI findings with executives functions and neurodevelopmental outcome

Background: - Some premature babies develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). BPD and ROP are long-term chronic diseases of the lungs and eyes, respectively. BPD is associated with receiving mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory distress syndrome, and causes lung inflammation and scarring. ROP is caused by poor development of blood vessels in the eyes, and may lead to blindness. Because not all premature babies develop BPD or ROP, researchers want to study the genes that could be associated with these diseases. They will look at both premature infants and their parents to see if there is a genetic component to BPD and ROP. Objectives: - To study genes that may be associated with BPD and ROP. Eligibility: Premature babies born with a weight less than or equal to 1,250 grams. Parents of the premature babies. Design: Parents will answer questions about the mother s health and pregnancy. Delivery and medical information will be collected during the baby s hospitalization for the first month after birth. Parents will provide a saliva sample from the inside of the cheek. A saliva sample will also be collected from the baby within 28 days of birth. If the baby needs tracheal aspiration (removal of fluid from the throat), tracheal fluid samples will also be collected. Parents will have followup interviews about their child s health 6 months, 12 months, and yearly for up to 6 years after birth. This is a genetic study only. Treatment will not be provided as part of this study.

The aim of this study is use of ACTH as a predictive marker in patients of threatened preterm labor .

The skin barrier lipids will be lower in premature infants than in full term infants and will become normal over 3-4 months after birth. The higher skin pH in premature infants will be related to an altered lipid composition which will change as the skin acidifies.

This is an observational study that proposes to collect clinical, physiological, cellular and molecular information in an attempt to identify a set of factors that may predict the risk for persistent lung disease in babies born prematurely.

Our objective was to evaluate maturation of sucking and swallowing in preterm infants using a non-invasive method: assessment of swallowing sounds. Findings in healthy term infants were used as reference values.