Preterm Birth Clinical Trials

This study will investigate stress that parents of children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience. Investigation of a novel intervention of using bilateral alternating stimulation to reduce parental stress and anxiety and increase bonding/attachment in NICU. Evaluate parental stress and feelings of bonding using surveys before and after the intervention. Intervention will be done at neonate's bedside while admitted to the NICU. Vital sign data will be collected as a marker of parent and neonate's stress response during the intervention. Read Less

The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to assess sulfasalazine as a potential treatment to prevent recurrent preterm birth. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does sulfasalazine down regulate corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) levels in pregnant persons with a prior history of preterm birth? Does sulfasalazine reduce the incidence of recurrent preterm birth in pregnant persons given drug vs. controls? Consenting participants will be randomized to receive sulfasalazine or to a control group and will undergo serial blood draws to assess plasma CRH levels. Read Less

This is a single center, prospective cohort study of pregnant patients at high risk for spontaneous preterm birth: patient's with history of spontaneous preterm birth, patient's with a short cervix and patient's symptomatic for preterm birth will be included. A control cohort of nulliparous patients without a short cervix will be recruited to provide baseline data. Plan to enroll 240 patients identified through our ultrasound unit with goal of 60 patients in each group. Read Less

Premature babies often need help immediately after birth to open their lungs to air, start breathing and keep their hearts beating. Opening their lungs can be difficult, and once open the under-developed lungs of premature babies will often collapse again between each breath. To prevent this nearly all premature babies receive some form of mechanical respiratory support to aid breathing. Common to all types of respiratory support is the delivery of a treatment called positive end-expiratory pressure, or PEEP. PEEP gives air, or a mixture of air and oxygen, to the lung between each breath to keep the lungs open and stop them collapsing. Currently, clinicians do not have enough evidence on the right amount, or level, of PEEP to give at birth. As a result, doctors around the world give different amounts (or levels) of PEEP to premature babies at birth. In this study, the Investigators will look at 2 different approaches to PEEP to help premature babies during their first breaths at birth. At the moment, the Investigators do not know if one is better than the other. One is to give the same PEEP level to the lungs. The others is to give a high PEEP level at birth when the lungs are hardest to open and then decrease the PEEP later once the lungs are opened and the baby is breathing. Very premature babies have a risk of long-term lung disease (chronic lung disease). The more breathing support a premature baby needs, the more likely the risk of developing chronic lung disease. The Investigators want to find out whether one method of opening the baby's lungs at birth results in them needing less breathing support. This research has been initiated by a group of doctors from Australia, the Netherlands and the USA, all who look after premature babies. Read Less

This randomized controlled trial will test an intervention called the Mastery Lifestyle Intervention (the MLI) that was developed from data of 1000+pregnant Hispanic women related to risks of preterm birth. The investigators will deliver a psychoeducational intervention that is manualized over 6 group sessions. The investigators will also have a usual care group that receives standard prenatal care. The investigators plan to enroll 221 pregnant women and start the study with them at 14-20 weeks gestation. The investigators will also test the biological response of the intervention by measuring Corticotropin Releasing Hormone, progesterone, estriol, and test for cotinine. The investigators will also determine any effect on infant outcomes at delivery. Read Less

The purpose of this project is to determine the direct impact of sodium supplementation in preterm infants and to see the overall improvement of their growth and health status. from this study will help us develop a better treatment for in the future. Read Less

Background/significance: Over 100,000 early preterm infants are born annually in the United States and suffer morbidity and mortality during hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit. One such condition is hypothermia. Hypothermia has been defined as a contributor of neonatal morbidity by The World Health Organization. Another acute morbidity is anemia in preterm infants due to the prematurity and frequent laboratory testing. Anemia requires correction with a packed red blood cells (PRBC) transfusion. Researchers have previous noted hypothermia during PRBC transfusions in preterm infants. Objective: To use a commercial blood warmer in the neonatal intensive care setting to prevent hypothermic body temperatures (<36.5°C) in very preterm infants during PRBC transfusions. Process: Based on a completed national survey of neonatal intensive care nurses and PRBC transfusion practices and personal NICU experience, we designed this randomized control trial in 140 very preterm infants in a Southeastern, level III neonatal intensive care unit. Outcomes: Very preterm infants (<32 weeks gestational age) receiving PRBC transfusions warmed by the commercial blood warmer will have a lower incidence of central body hypothermia post transfusion (temperatures <36.5C), compared to infants receiving PRBC transfusions by standard of care. Very preterm infants (<32 weeks gestational age) receiving PRBC transfusions warmed by the commercial blood warmer will have a higher post transfusion mean abdominal skin body temperature when compared to infants receiving PRBC transfusions by standard of care. Hypothesis : The results of this trial could show that very preterm infants experience hypothermia during PRBC transfusions, and thus provide the evidence to support the need for warmed PRBC transfusions in very preterm infants nationwide. Read Less

This is an observational study of pregnant persons in threatened labor. The study device will record electromyography signals, then the signals will be examined to determine who is in true labor and who is in threatened labor. The two goals are: To establish the thresholds for the Contraction Synchronization Index (CSI) and the False Labor Index (FSI) to be used by the Labor Status Monitor to diagnose in-Labor or Not-in-Labor for preterm patients with threatened labor To obtain feedback from subjects and providers to assist with enhancing patient comfort and provider training. Read Less

In the US, the burden of very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) birth is borne disproportionately by black (non-Hispanic black/African American) mothers who are 2.2-2.6 times more likely than nonblack mothers to deliver VLBW infants. This disparity is amplified because black VLBW infants are significantly less likely to receive mother's own milk (MOM) feedings from birth until neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge than nonblack infants, which adds to the lifelong burden of VLBW birth with increased risk of morbidities and greater costs. Pumping is associated with out-of-pocket and opportunity costs that are borne by mothers, unlike donor human milk and formula, which are paid for by NICUs. This innovative trial will determine the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing the disparity in MOM feedings and provide an economic analysis of the interventions, yielding critical data impacting generalizability and likelihood of implementation of results. The investigators hypothesize that mothers who receive intervention will have greater pumping volume and duration and their infants will be more likely to receive MOM at NICU discharge compared to mothers who receive standard of care lactation care and their infants. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL) intervention on the transition to oral feeding for preterm infants with chronic lung disease and respiratory distress syndrome that require non-invasive respiratory support at 34 weeks PMA. This study will utilize a clinical trial design. Participants will be randomized into two groups. One group will receive the PAL intervention, the other group serving as a no contact control. Participants will be matched based on sex, gestational age at birth, and neurologic injury. Infants in the intervention group will receive two PAL sessions a week until successfully transitioned to <2L of respiratory support and then receive one PAL session within 24 hours of their first oral feeding attempt. Read Less

There is a fundamental gap in understanding the maternal and neonatal effects of antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) administration in women with threatened preterm birth (PTB) who have diabetes. Since the initial discovery of ACS for neonatal benefit in 1972, more than 40 randomized controlled trials have been performed evaluating its efficacy. However, none of these trials have included women with T2DM, and there is limited data among women with gestational diabetes. While ACS have been shown to reduce neonatal morbidity associated with PTB in non-diabetic women, the side effects of ACS (maternal hyperglycemia and fetal hyperinsulinemia) may mitigate the neonatal benefit of ACS in women with diabetes. Before neonatal benefit of ACS can be evaluated in this population, the first step is to optimize maternal glycemic control after ACS. Previous studies evaluating maternal hyperglycemia after ACS have been limited by small sample size, retrospective study design, or insufficient glucose data. Use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in a randomized clinical trial provides a unique opportunity to overcome these challenges. Our long-term goal is to improve maternal and child health among women with diabetes as an independently funded clinical researcher. The research objectives of this proposal are to test the efficacy of three treatment strategies at achieving maternal glycemic control after ACS and evaluate the association between maternal glycemic control and neonatal outcomes. Our central hypothesis is that treatment with a continuous insulin infusion will improve maternal glycemic control, which is key to improving neonatal outcomes, but at the cost of less patient satisfaction and more health resource utilization. This hypothesis will be tested by pursuing the following specific aims: 1) Test the efficacy of three treatment strategies (addition of sliding scale insulin, up-titration of home insulin, and continuous insulin infusion) at achieving maternal glycemic control after ACS and 2) Quantify the association between maternal glycemic control after ACS and neonatal morbidity. Completion of these aims will determine the optimal strategy to achieve maternal glycemic control after ACS and inform a larger, multicenter trial to improve neonatal outcomes among women with diabetes and threatened PTB. Read Less

This prospective, randomized, controlled study evaluates the safety and efficacy of a preterm birth (PTB) prevention strategy versus standard of care pregnancy management to reduce the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Read Less