Explore every episode of the podcast The Incubator
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #479 - When a NICU Physician Group Is Replaced, a First-Hand Account | 10 Nov 2026 | 00:26:06 | |
On July 1st, nine neonatologists at the only Level III NICU in Southern Oregon were terminated and replaced with a locums-only staffing model. Dr. Shelly Haug Monti, one of those physicians and a founding member of Babies First, joins Ben to describe what happened, what the group had been trying to raise with hospital leadership beforehand, and why they chose to organize rather than quietly move on. She discusses continuity of care in a 32-bed unit covering 20,000 square miles, what meaningful physician voice in staffing decisions should look like, how the group engaged nurses, families and state legislators, and how clinicians anywhere can recognize the early signs of a deteriorating healthcare system. Learn more about Babies First here: https://www.babiesfirst.org/ As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #478 - How Much CPAP Is the Baby Actually Getting? | 06 Nov 2026 | 00:41:54 | |
Dr. Charles Roehr joins Daphna for the third episode of The Incubator’s special series on non-invasive ventilation, recorded ahead of Hot Topics in Neonatology. The conversation starts with a question most of us stopped asking long ago: is the pressure on the screen the pressure in the lung? From there they work through leak, interface cycling and skin injury, how to tell whether a baby needs more pressure, why a unit’s familiarity with its equipment may predict success better than the mode itself, and when the right wean is no wean at all. Charles closes with his wish list for the ideal neonatal interface. Don’t miss the live session continuing this conversation: Pressure, Flow, and the Grey Areas In Between. Monday, December 7 at 11:45 AM As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #477 - Should Stable Preterm Infants Stay on CPAP Two Weeks Longer? | 04 Nov 2026 | 00:39:13 | |
This week we are replaying one of our most listened-to episodes, which sits right at the heart of our special series on non-invasive ventilation recorded ahead of Hot Topics in Neonatology. Dr. Cindy McEvoy, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Neonatal Research at OHSU, joins Ben and Daphna to discuss her work on extended CPAP in preterm infants. CPAP has long been a cornerstone of neonatal care, but how long should stable infants remain on support? Dr. McEvoy shares findings from two randomized controlled trials that explored whether an additional two weeks of CPAP could promote lung growth and improve longer-term outcomes. We review the physiologic rationale behind extended CPAP, including the role of mechanical stretch in stimulating alveolar and vascular development. Dr. McEvoy explains the stability criteria used to determine eligibility for extended CPAP and how her team measured pulmonary function in neonates. Results from her studies showed significant improvements in lung volume, diffusion capacity, and expiratory flows, with early signals of reduced wheezing at one year of age. The conversation also touches on feeding tolerance, the practicalities of implementing extended CPAP in the NICU, and the need for larger multicenter studies to confirm these findings. This episode offers an evidence-based look at how a simple extension of an existing therapy might reshape respiratory outcomes for preterm infants. This series is produced in partnership with Hot Topics in Neonatology and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Join us at Hot Topics in Neonatology National Harbor, MD, December 6 to 9, 2026. Register here: https://hottopicsinneonatology.nemours.org/registration.html Don’t miss the live session continuing this conversation: Pressure, Flow, and the Grey Areas In Between. Monday, December 7 at 11:45 AM Full agenda: https://hottopicsinneonatology.nemours.org/agenda.html As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #476 - Does NIPPV Work or Is It Just Higher Mean Airway Pressure? | 02 Nov 2026 | 00:50:41 | |
Dr. Brett Manley joins Ben for the opening episode of The Incubator’s special series on non-invasive ventilation, recorded ahead of Hot Topics in Neonatology. They work through the full arc of non-invasive support, from the delivery room to the convalescent phase and beyond. What actually counts as nasal high flow, and when should it come off? Why did HIPSTER and HUNTER move clinicians back toward CPAP as primary support? Is the benefit of NIPPV about synchronization or simply higher mean airway pressure? Brett shares his own weaning approach, the ÉCLAT findings, and the trials he believes the field needs next. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - What Does a CPR Coach Actually Do During a NICU Code? | 02 Nov 2026 | 00:14:51 | |
During a code, who is making sure the chest compressions are actually high quality? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Gina Klein, a simulation education consultant, and Sherry Casey, a NICU nurse and simulation coordinator, both from Cincinnati Children’s, to discuss their poster on implementing the CPR coach. Gina explains how video review in the emergency department revealed the microbehaviors that make feedback effective, like giving one piece of feedback at a time, and how that became a free curriculum at cincycpr.org. Sherry describes adapting it for the NICU, with a code blue arrival algorithm, clear criteria for switching to PALS, and an APP assigned as CPR coach on every floor each day. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - What’s New in the Latest Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines? | 01 Nov 2026 | 00:34:09 | |
When a baby with congenital heart disease decompensates in the delivery room, do we still follow NRP? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Noorjahan Ali of Children’s Health Dallas, Dr. Henry Lee of UC San Diego and Rady Children’s, and Dr. Anne Ades of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Ali explains a green, yellow, and red light approach to resuscitating heart babies, and why common things are still common. Dr. Lee reviews recent NRP updates, including a starting inflation pressure of 25 cm H2O and a ventilation rate of 30 to 60. Dr. Ades describes the Resuscitation in the NICU course, the value of a CPR coach, and why the NRP versus PALS debate may come down to the physiology of the patient in front of you. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - How Can the CHNC Mentored Fellows Program Launch a Research Career? | 01 Nov 2026 | 00:21:56 | |
If a preterm infant’s PDA needs closing, does timing matter? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with the CHNC’s mentored fellows, Dr. Meriam Avades of Phoenix Children’s and Dr. Shannon Vitone of Arkansas Children’s, to hear their projects ahead of their presentations. Dr. Vitone shares a mixed methods study of about 1,300 neonates receiving renal replacement therapy since 2011, where mortality rose over time despite growing use, and interviews with 21 providers identifying culture, people, and process as keys to successful programs. Dr. Avades presents a multicenter landmark analysis showing that infants under 28 weeks whose PDA was closed by transcatheter device before 28 days of life were liberated from respiratory support faster. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Are We All Reinventing the Same Wheel in NICU Staffing? | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:11:06 | |
What happens when most level IV NICUs are missing four to five advanced practice providers? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Sarah Shedler of Children’s Wisconsin and Chandler Williams, from Children's National, both members of the CHNC’s new APP Focus Group. They explain why APPs, caught between nursing and physician initiatives, needed a group of their own, and share results from their survey of member institutions: roles that vary widely from unit to unit, staffing shortages, burnout, and retention concerns. With only 250 to 300 NNPs graduating each year, they describe how fellowships for physician associates and pediatric nurse practitioners are helping fill the gap, and why sharing solutions across centers means no one has to reinvent the wheel. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Should Every NICU Intubation Start With Video Laryngoscopy? | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:15:24 | |
Why does first-attempt intubation success in the NICU still hover around 40 to 56%? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Somi Singh, a second-year neonatology fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to discuss her poster on standardizing neonatal intubation practices. Dr. Singh walks through her team’s QI project: a checklist with a time-out and video laryngoscopy, a standardized premedication order set, and a pocket-card workflow built around “PAP before push” and PPV before the blade. The changes improved first-attempt success and reduced adverse events, but severe desaturations remained stubbornly high, leading to a new focus on apneic oxygenation. They also discuss training fellows in both video and direct laryngoscopy. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - How AI should support clinicians, rather than replace Them. | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:26:20 | |
When a nurse makes an error with 20 things happening at once, is it really a personal slip, or a system that pushed her past capacity? Recording from the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. James Wan, director of the Human Factors and Systems Design team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, an engineer and pastor who keynoted on “Human Factors Empathy Science.” He explains the limited capacity model, why most clinicians live with almost no spare capacity, and why emotional workload matters alongside physical and cognitive workload. He shares how human factors can shape new hospital spaces, cut alarm and signage noise, and use simulation to redesign workflows, and why AI should support humans, not supplant them. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Why burnout is a Systems Problem and not a personal failure. | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:31:55 | |
Why does one difficult case sometimes feel heavier than it should? Recording at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Jennifer Kett, division head for bioethics and palliative care at Seattle Children’s, ahead of her keynote on secondary trauma in the NICU. Dr. Kett unpacks the overlapping concepts of primary and secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress, the moral residue crescendo, and institutional betrayal, using the metaphor of a pitcher of water. She shares the personal warning signs she watches for, why clinicians try to go it alone, and how teams can shift difficult cases among themselves. Above all, she argues that burnout is a systems problem that requires system-level resources, not more yoga at work. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - How Can Art shape Parental understanding of a fetal diagnosis? | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:20:22 | |
How often have you searched for a parent handout on a fetal diagnosis and found nothing, or something too cold and branded to share? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Namrita Odackal of The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a neonatologist, fellowship program director, and medical illustrator, to celebrate the launch of the Atlas of Fetal Pathologies at fetalatlas.org. She explains how fellows and faculty mentors write each entry, how the CHNC Fetal Therapy Focus Group peer reviews it, and how physician artists create original, humanistic illustrations. Entries on agenesis of the corpus callosum, amniotic band syndrome, and tracheoesophageal fistula are live NOW, free to use, with many more on the way. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Can Fetal Surgery Prevent Complex Gastroschisis? and how botox is helping in fetal surgery for gastrocshisis. | 30 Oct 2026 | 00:22:13 | |
What if the baby with complex gastroschisis never needed months in the NICU? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Sundeep Keswani, associate surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, after his keynote on fetoscopic in utero repair of gastroschisis. He explains how fetoscopy has made the risk-benefit balance possible, how intra-abdominal bowel dilation identifies babies at risk, and why a fetal Botox injection to relax the abdominal wall changed the procedure. He shares outcomes from the first five patients in the phase 1 FDA trial, including babies discharged within days, and his hypothesis that bowel dilation may drive the disease itself. He also explains why the 20% who don’t do well deserve our attention. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - How Many Babies Are We Losing Because No One Can Pick Up a Probe? | 29 Oct 2026 | 00:24:36 | |
When a baby crashes in the NICU, how long will it take before someone in the room can pick up a probe and look at the heart? Recording from day two of the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Rune Toms of Nicklaus Children’s Health System and Dr. Jae Kim of Cincinnati Children’s to discuss the urgent need to spread basic cardiac POCUS skills. They describe a minimum skill set for acute events, including function, volume, tamponade, and line position, and explain why depending on one champion per unit isn’t enough. They also tackle the barriers, from getting a machine to credentialing to turf with cardiology, and share practical advice: start with one application, partner with colleagues, and build from there. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Day Two | 29 Oct 2026 | 00:00:17 | |
Day two of the CHNC Symposium is here! Daphna sets the stage for a full lineup of keynote speakers sharing the latest in care for the most complex babies in level IV NICUs. Stay tuned for all of today’s conversations. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Is Withholding ECMO in CAKUT Still Ethically Justified? | 29 Oct 2026 | 00:17:43 | |
When a baby with a congenital kidney anomaly develops pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension, should ECMO be on the table? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Abhishek Makkar and Dr. Saeed Ahmed of Children’s Health in Dallas to discuss CAKUT, congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. They share findings from their multicenter survey of CHNC and pediatric ECMO centers, which found that only about 10% of centers have guidelines, and that willingness to offer ECMO varies widely by diagnosis. They explain the importance of multidisciplinary prenatal planning, why rapid whole genome sequencing can change the conversation, and their plan to develop consensus guidelines using a Delphi approach. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - What Does It Take to Build a Dedicated BPD Unit? | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:23:36 | |
What happens to a baby with severe BPD when the attending changes every two weeks and every plan starts over? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Sushmita Yallapragada, Dr. Riddhi Desai, and Dr. Jonathan Ibrahim of UT Southwestern and Children’s Health in Dallas to talk about BOOST, their Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Outcomes and Support Team, and the new 12-bed BPD unit within their NICU. They explain how a small core of physicians, APPs, nurses, and respiratory therapists brings continuity for families, why they’ve stopped making knee-jerk changes based on blood gases, and how they tailor ventilation to BPD phenotype. They also describe how developmental therapists and BSRI scores now help guide weaning decisions. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Is the Prenatal Consult a Checkbox or the Start of a Relationship? | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:16:59 | |
When five specialists sit across from one frightened family, who responds when a parent starts to cry? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Zeynep Salih of Riley Children’s Hospital to talk about interdisciplinary prenatal counseling. Dr. Salih shares findings from interviews with 24 physicians: most prefer counseling together, so everyone is on the same page; nearly all said being a parent helps them empathize; and many deferred emotional moments to palliative care. Parents, meanwhile, often perceive information sharing as a response to emotion. She offers practical advice for an optimal consult: hold a pre-meeting, warn families about the size of the group, break the ice, and always ask permission before showing fetal images. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Can We Make Neonatal Renal Replacement Therapy Simpler? | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:21:40 | |
If your NICU doesn’t offer dialysis, do families still know it’s an option? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with pediatric nephrologist Dr. David Askenazi and nephrology nurse practitioner Kara Short of Children’s of Alabama, and neonatologist Dr. Cara Slagle, ahead of their workshop on practical approaches to neonatal renal replacement therapy. They explain why the most important topics are often the least discussed: medication dosing on dialysis, vascular access, nutrition, and when to start. Dr. Slagle shares the lesson of a baby who got too cold on dialysis, Kara makes the case for keeping these babies in the NICU, and all agree that patient selection, guided by what matters to families, will be the most debated question. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Are we underdiagnosing urinary tract infections in the NICU or missing ROP in Infants Over 30 Weeks? | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:15:36 | |
Recording live at the CHNC Symposium, Daphna sits down with two Explore presenters. Dr. Rachel Han of Golisano Children’s Hospital shares a clinical prediction model for UTI in level IV NICUs, built from the CHND, which flags vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract obstruction, male sex, and aneuploidy as risk factors, and explains why the new AAP guideline’s lower threshold may reveal more infections. Dr. Jeffrey Shenberger of Connecticut Children’s then examines ROP in infants screened because their attending judged them at risk. Among 5,700 screened infants, 7.2% had ROP, and risk factors included gestational age, Apgar score, postnatal steroids, and inhaled nitric oxide. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 [CHNC 2026] - Can You Prove Your Commitment to Quality Without the Data? | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:11:36 | |
What does it take to back up a claim that your NICU delivers the highest quality of care? Recording live at the CHNC Symposium in Denver, Daphna reunites with Dr. Rune Toms, system chief of neonatology at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and The Incubator’s very first guest. He explains why Nicklaus is joining the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium, and how its data on complex level IV patients goes beyond what other networks capture. He describes neonatal care as a chain, where a single unplanned extubation at 3 a.m. can undo weeks of progress, and why frontline clinicians need infrastructure that breaks down silos. He also reflects on the vulnerability it takes to share your data, and why rare conditions demand collaboration. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #475 - 🟠 CHNC 2026 - Kick off! | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:04:01 | |
The Incubator Podcast is coming to you from the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) Symposium in Denver, Colorado! Daphna sits down with the physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and researchers whose focus groups collaborate all year round, across the United States and into Canada, to move research to the bedside sooner for the most complex babies in level IV NICUs. Catch all of these episodes on both our podcast channel and our YouTube channel, wherever you prefer to listen or watch. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #474 - 🚀 [Tech Tuesday] - mOm Incubators Returns, Now FDA Cleared and in Eight Countries | 25 Oct 2026 | 00:24:31 | |
James Roberts, co-founder and CEO of mOm Incubators, returns to Tech Tuesday almost four years after his first appearance, when the device was still in development. A lot has changed. The mOm Essentials is now CE marked and FDA cleared, in use across eight countries, and has reached roughly 18,500 patients, from NHS maternity wards to air raid shelters in Ukraine. Daphna and James talk through what makes the system different: a bassinet sized footprint, one button operation, battery power that keeps warming through transport, and the ability to sit over a mother's bed. They discuss which babies are now staying with their parents instead of going to the NICU, the hypothermia admissions it is preventing, and how floor nurses have responded. James also shares the personal story behind the company and what mOm is building next. mOm is now looking for US partners. Details at momincubators.com As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - We can't help what we inherited, but we are responsible for what we leave for the field | 25 Oct 2026 | 00:32:45 | |
Who will care for the next generation of NICU babies? Daphna and Christa sit down with Colleen Reiley Moss and Jessica Meneses Jones to unpack the neonatal nurse practitioner workforce crisis. With only 37 NNP programs nationwide and clinical placements blocked by red tape, they explore why so few nurses enter the pipeline and why many leave. Christa shares how becoming a clinical site helped her program recruit, and what it truly costs. Together they make the case that NNPs and neonatologists are partners, not competitors, and call on the neonatal community to invest in preceptorship, advocacy, and recruitment before more maternity and neonatal care deserts emerge. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - How does a profession that makes up just 2 percent of all practitioners build a community of its own? | 25 Oct 2026 | 00:10:31 | |
To close out our FANNP Symposium coverage, Daphna and Christa sit down with Patrick McCray, president of FANNP and a neonatal nurse practitioner with AdventHealth in Orlando. Patrick shares the organization’s focus on advocacy, education, growth, and community, and explains why, despite the Florida in its name, FANNP draws NNPs from across the country and beyond. He talks about a record exhibit hall, sold out preconference courses on PICC lines and respiratory care, the on demand library for those who couldn’t attend, and year round education through Facebook Live and YouTube. He also reflects on what he finds most rewarding about his presidency. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - High yield articles from the last year! | 25 Oct 2026 | 00:30:08 | |
Daphna and Christa sit down with Dr. Alfonso Vargas to preview his journal club. They review the NICHD Neonatal Research Network PDA trial, stopped early for higher mortality with treatment, the UK FEED1 trial on full milk feeds from day one in babies at 30 to 32 weeks, and the PLaNT trial of prophylactic CPAP after cesarean birth in late preterm infants. Dr. Vargas also shares his top takeaways from the 2026 AAP therapeutic hypothermia report and why unit culture, built from the ground up, determines whether any guideline works. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - How Do You Win Over the Eye Rollers at NICU Simulation? | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:13:24 | |
How do we safely dose medications when more than 90 percent of NICU drugs are not FDA approved for neonates? Daphna and Christa sit down with Nicole Thompson Bowie, a neonatal nurse practitioner at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, about her neonatal pharmacology review. Nicole explains why pharmacokinetics is the foundation, why understanding the why behind every drug matters more than any protocol, and how medications given to the mother affect the baby. The conversation then turns to simulation, where Nicole shares why debriefing is the single most critical step, how video playback and open-ended questions help learners lead, why psychological safety must be protected, and how sharing her own mistakes helps win over reluctant participants. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - What Is the Difference Between Neuroprotection and Neuropromotion? | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:14:13 | |
What do we lose when NICU babies don’t see a therapist until they’re close to going home? Daphna talks with Diane Delgado Allen, an occupational therapist and certified neonatal therapist, following her lecture on optimizing developmental care for the long-term NICU infant. Diane explains the difference between neuroprotective and neuropromotive care, why early sensory experiences shape brain wiring, and how missed opportunities show up as sensory processing disorders, autism, cerebral palsy, and behavioral challenges. She describes her ideal developmental program, from prenatal consults to sibling playgroups, and makes the case for giving therapists a seat at the table. They also discuss the therapist’s role in family integrated care and what neonatal therapy certification means. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - Is the Feeding Tube a Hidden Source of Bacteria for Preterm Infants? | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:12:34 | |
What happens inside a feeding tube left in place for days at a time? Daphna and Christa reunite with Dr. Leslie Parker of the University of Florida. Dr. Parker shares not yet published findings from her study comparing feeding tube changes every two days versus every seven days, with less biofilm and bacterial contamination in more frequently changed tubes. She then turns to her work as a legal consultant, explaining why thorough documentation of what you saw, what you did, and why matters, and why she disagrees that less is more in charting. They wrap with practical advice for NNPs, fellows, and students looking for the right research mentor. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - How will we Fill the Gaps in the NICU Workforce? | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:16:05 | |
Recording live at the FANNP National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium, Daphna and Christa sit down with Dr. Jacqui Hoffman, associate professor in the DNP NNP track at Rush University and the symposium’s speaker coordinator. She shares what keeps the conference fresh, from on-demand sessions to hands-on PICC and ventilator workshops, and why she finds the work fulfilling rather than thankless. The conversation then turns to the neonatal workforce: declining NNP enrollment, the ripple effects of the 2025 ACGME residency changes, an upcoming study on 24-hour shift fatigue, and why physicians and nurse practitioners must tackle these challenges together rather than in silos. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - What will a NICU parent remember about you decades from now? | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:16:07 | |
Recording live at the FANNP National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium, Daphna and Christa sit down with Dr. Debbie Shirey, Associate Dean for Graduate Education at Baylor University, to revisit the morning’s opening talk. At 23, Debbie was a journalist and weekend DJ when she delivered her son at 27 weeks and spent four months commuting 130 miles to the NICU. A primary nurse named Liz taught her to place feeding tubes, called her every shift, and planted a question that changed her life. Debbie shares how that experience shaped her commitment to health literacy, compassion, and underserved patients, and offers honest advice for clinicians considering their next step. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - Do Breastfeeding Mothers Really Need to Pump and Dump After Anesthesia? | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:19:57 | |
When a NICU mother comes back from surgery, do you know what she was told about pumping? Recording live at the FANNP National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Michele Savin, NNP program director at Thomas Jefferson University. She shares how a group of CRNA doctoral students challenged the outdated “pump and dump” advice, showing that most anesthetic agents fall well below a 10% relative infant dose and that codeine is the main drug to avoid. They also discuss why we should ask parents directly about their own care, how NNP education is shifting toward competency based training, and what the new 750 clinical hour requirement means for the next generation of neonatal nurse practitioners. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 FANNP 2026 COVERAGE | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:07:34 | |
The Incubator Podcast is coming to you from the sold-out National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium in sunny Clearwater, Florida! Daphna is joined by her co-host for the week, Dr. Christa Matrone, as they sit down with the speakers, educators, and nurse practitioners shaping the future of neonatal care. From neurodevelopment and pain management to kidney health, breastfeeding, and NNP education, there is so much to learn, and every member of the NICU team has a seat at the table. Catch all of these episodes on both our podcast channel and our YouTube channel, wherever you prefer to listen or watch. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - What happens when you ask NICU parents to ask you a question? | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:17:14 | |
What if the sedative you added to spare opioids is the reason your patient is still on them? Recording live from the 2026 National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium in Clearwater, Florida, Daphna sits down with Dr. Khorshid Mohammad, neonatal neurocritical care expert from the University of Calgary, to preview his three talks. He shares how one small change in rounding language opened up NICU families, why true parent partnership means understanding rather than judging, and why neonatal pain scoring remains so subjective. He also explains how his team learned that adding dexmedetomidine increased opioid exposure in postsurgical neonates, and how a protocolized, score-driven QI approach turned it around. His take-home message is simple: how you do it matters more than what you do. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #473 - 🟣 [FANNP 2026] - Why is the kidney the forgotten organ in the NICU? | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:22:37 | |
Are you still waiting for a creatinine of 1.5 before calling it acute kidney injury? Recording live from the FANNP National Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Symposium, Daphna sits down with Dr. Terri Marin, NNP and nurse scientist at Augusta University and Children’s Hospital of Georgia, and the first NNP member of the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative. She explains why preterm infants are born mid nephrogenesis, why nearly half of babies under 29 weeks develop AKI, and why KDIGO criteria should replace outdated cutoffs. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #471 - 📑 Journal Club - The Complete Episode from October 17th 2026 | 17 Oct 2026 | 01:20:07 | |
This week on The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna dig into four studies testing what simple, evidence-based care looks like at the bedside. They open with a Swedish national cohort of nearly 4,700 very preterm infants, where a three-strain probiotic was linked to a 72% lower risk of death or NEC and near elimination of surgical NEC. Daphna then presents a study of banana puree as a natural thickener for NICU dysphagia, with oral intake reaching full volume within a week. Ben reviews the AIROPLANE trial, comparing 21% and 30% initial oxygen in infants born at 32 to 35 weeks. Daphna closes with the new AAP UTI guideline, covering shorter antibiotic courses, early oral transition, and imaging before VCUG. ---- Probiotics and Risk of Death, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, and Sepsis in Very Preterm Infants. Mitha A, Söderquist Kruth S, Sinervo E, Domellöf M, Brindefalk B, Abrahamsson T, Johansson S, Rakow A.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Sep 1;9(9):e2635560. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.35560.PMID: 42776528 Free PMC article. We're going bananas! The effectiveness and safety of banana puree as an intervention for improving oral feeding in a level IV NICU. Carr CB, Ricciardi SE, Bery S, Levin R, Wilson-Costello D, Yalcinkaya G, Ryan RM.J Perinatol. 2026 Sep;46(9):1635-1640. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02765-z. Epub 2026 Jul 7.PMID: 42414579 Free PMC article. Oxygen vs Air at Birth for Moderate- to Late-Preterm Infants: The AIROPLANE Cluster Randomized Crossover Trial. Peart SR, Manley BJ, Cheong JLY, Oei JL, Grobler AC, Moore CL, Allen RL, Alda MG, Bell G, Bhola K, Carman K, de Waal K, Dombagahawaththage CAN, Fan WQ, Fang AYW, Goyadi PK, Houghton KA, Jain KF, John J, Joshi D, Kunjunju A, Marshall IR, Mills JF, Nichol J, Parkhurst K, Priyadarshi A, Roberts CT, Thomas N, Tickell DJ, Walsh T, Yates KM, Ziffer J, Davis PG, Owen LS; AIROPLANE Trial Investigators and the IMPACT Clinical Trials Network for Mothers’ and Babies’ Health.JAMA. 2026 Sep 9:e2614201. doi: 10.1001/jama.2026.14201. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42714881 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection in Children From 8 Days to 5 Years of Age. Alverson BK, Hains DS, Downs SM, El Feghaly RE, Forster CS, Jain S, Johnston A, Mattoo TK, Nelson CP, Olakanpo O, Otero HJ, Peters CA, Poppinga NM, Saha D, Schroeder AR, Senerth E, Pilcher L, Flinn SK, Morgan RL, Mustafa RA.Pediatrics. 2026 Oct 1;158(4):e2026078565. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-078565.PMID: 42803578 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #472 - Can a Badge Card Make Neonatal Resuscitation Easier at 2 a.m.? | 16 Oct 2026 | 00:08:51 | |
What do you reach for when you're called to a delivery at 2 a.m. and the NRP algorithm feels just out of reach? In this episode, Ben sits down with Lily Bachelor, a neonatal nurse practitioner from Colorado who turned her own new grad anxiety into a practical bedside tool. Together with her husband, a graphic designer specializing in signage and wayfinding, Lily created badge-sized neonatal resuscitation reference cards, now updated to the ninth edition of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. She explains why phones fall short at the bedside, how the ninth edition's gestational age and weight based recommendations made a quick reference more valuable than ever, and why clinicians at every stage of practice can benefit. The cards are available on Amazon and Etsy in vertical and horizontal formats. Get the Neonatal Resuscitation Badge Buddy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4KVR8ZZ As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #471 - [Journal Club] - 📌 A Review of the New AAP UTI Guidelines for Neonates | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:22:02 | |
How long should you treat a UTI in an 8-day-old, and when do you really need a VCUG? On this Journal Club, Daphna breaks down the brand-new AAP clinical practice guideline for urinary tract infection in children from 8 days to 5 years, the first update since 2011 and the first to include infants under two months. She walks through the key action statements: a lower culture threshold of 10,000 CFU with evidence of inflammation, age-specific urinalysis criteria, shorter antibiotic courses for low-risk children, early transition to oral antibiotics even in the neonatal period, renal and bladder ultrasound before VCUG, and narrower use of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis. Ben highlights the printable flow sheets every NICU should post. ---- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection in Children From 8 Days to 5 Years of Age. Alverson BK, Hains DS, Downs SM, El Feghaly RE, Forster CS, Jain S, Johnston A, Mattoo TK, Nelson CP, Olakanpo O, Otero HJ, Peters CA, Poppinga NM, Saha D, Schroeder AR, Senerth E, Pilcher L, Flinn SK, Morgan RL, Mustafa RA.Pediatrics. 2026 Oct 1;158(4):e2026078565. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-078565.PMID: 42803578 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #471 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Should a 34 weeker be resuscitated with 21% or 30% oxygen? | 14 Oct 2026 | 00:16:12 | |
What FiO2 should you start at for a 34-week preterm infant who needs help breathing at birth? On this Journal Club, Ben reviews the AIROPLANE trial, a cluster randomized crossover study across 26 Australian maternity hospitals comparing initial FiO2 of 30% versus 21% in 1,818 infants born at 32 to 35 weeks. Ongoing respiratory support leaving the delivery room was nearly identical between groups, but infants started at 30% needed less escalation in the delivery room and less endotracheal ventilation afterward. Ben places the findings alongside ILCOR guidance and the TORPIDO 30/60 trial, and explains why this common population has gone understudied for so long. Daphna and Ben agree: for now, consistency is the best practice. ---- Oxygen vs Air at Birth for Moderate- to Late-Preterm Infants: The AIROPLANE Cluster Randomized Crossover Trial. Peart SR, Manley BJ, Cheong JLY, Oei JL, Grobler AC, Moore CL, Allen RL, Alda MG, Bell G, Bhola K, Carman K, de Waal K, Dombagahawaththage CAN, Fan WQ, Fang AYW, Goyadi PK, Houghton KA, Jain KF, John J, Joshi D, Kunjunju A, Marshall IR, Mills JF, Nichol J, Parkhurst K, Priyadarshi A, Roberts CT, Thomas N, Tickell DJ, Walsh T, Yates KM, Ziffer J, Davis PG, Owen LS; AIROPLANE Trial Investigators and the IMPACT Clinical Trials Network for Mothers’ and Babies’ Health.JAMA. 2026 Sep 9:e2614201. doi: 10.1001/jama.2026.14201. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42714881 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #471 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Could Banana Puree Help Preterm Infants Finally Feed? | 13 Oct 2026 | 00:21:57 | |
What do you do when a feeder-grower has tried every bottle, nipple, and pacing strategy and still can’t finish a feed? On this Journal Club, Daphna brings a palate cleanser after yesterday’s deep dive on probiotics: a retrospective study from Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital testing banana puree as a natural thickener for NICU infants with dysphagia. Among 43 mature preterm infants who had failed standard interventions, oral intake rose from about half of feeds to full volume within seven days, with no respiratory adverse events and no change in weight gain. Ben and Daphna discuss why low-tech, inexpensive interventions deserve a place in our toolkit, whether a randomized trial is even needed, and why parents might already be ahead of us. ---- We're going bananas! The effectiveness and safety of banana puree as an intervention for improving oral feeding in a level IV NICU. Carr CB, Ricciardi SE, Bery S, Levin R, Wilson-Costello D, Yalcinkaya G, Ryan RM.J Perinatol. 2026 Sep;46(9):1635-1640. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02765-z. Epub 2026 Jul 7.PMID: 42414579 Free PMC article. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #471 - [Journal Club] - 📌 The remarkable effect of probiotics on NEC in Sweden | 13 Oct 2026 | 00:28:01 | |
Has the evidence on probiotics finally reached a tipping point? On this Journal Club, Ben, fresh off a night shift, opens with two announcements: a follow-up on the ABP’s fellowship length decision and a new partnership with Pediatrix that may finally bring CME to the platform. Daphna highlights the Neonatal Insights conference in Houston. Ben then reviews a Swedish national cohort of nearly 4,700 infants born at 28 to 31 weeks, where a three-strain probiotic was linked to a 72% lower risk of death or NEC and near elimination of surgical NEC. He places the findings alongside recent Dutch and US studies, discusses Ravi Patel’s editorial on immortal time bias, and asks where the probiotic evidence truly lands. ---- Probiotics and Risk of Death, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, and Sepsis in Very Preterm Infants. Mitha A, Söderquist Kruth S, Sinervo E, Domellöf M, Brindefalk B, Abrahamsson T, Johansson S, Rakow A.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Sep 1;9(9):e2635560. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.35560.PMID: 42776528 Free PMC article. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #470 - ABP Reverses Course on Two Year Neo Fellowship | 06 Oct 2026 | 00:27:53 | |
The American Board of Pediatrics has reversed course. After months of pushback from the neonatology community, the ABP has excluded neonatal-perinatal medicine from the two year fellowship waivers it is now granting to seven other pediatric subspecialties. Neonatology fellowship stays at three years. Ben is joined by Dr. Patrick Myers, past chair of ONTPD and fellowship director at Northwestern, and Dr. Brooke Vergales, ONTPD co-chair, to break down how this happened. They describe how program directors, division chiefs, and the AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine presented a unified position, why the ABP listened, and why both guests still consider this a pause rather than a settled outcome. The episode also covers what the reversal did not change: entrustable professional activities are still arriving over the next 18 months, and the scholarly activity requirement is still being dropped. ONTPD's response is a new committee to define what an excellent neonatologist must know at graduation. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - 📑 Journal Club - The Complete Episode from October 3rd 2026 | 03 Oct 2026 | 01:41:46 | |
This week on The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna dig into four studies testing what the evidence supports at the bedside. They open with the 24-month BeNeDuctus follow-up, where expectant management and early ibuprofen for PDA yield identical survival without neurodevelopmental impairment. Daphna then presents the Nourish trial, finding individually targeted milk fortification did not improve growth, body composition, or brain MRI outcomes. Next, a Dutch study links probiotics to halved NEC rates, but rising non-NEC mortality and a fatal probiotic sepsis case leave Ben ambivalent. Daphna closes Journal Club with an Australian cohort suggesting nearly a third of NICU deaths met organ donor criteria. The week wraps with Ben and Eli on Neo News, unpacking a sibling-matched study finding no link between prenatal Tylenol and autism or ADHD. ---- Long-Term Outcomes of Expectant Management versus Early Ibuprofen for Patent Ductus Arteriosus: 24-Month Follow-Up of the BeNeDuctus Trial. Apers WMJ, Hundscheid T, Kooi EMW, Onland W, Vijlbrief D, Steiner K, Donders R, Mulder AL, de Boode WP; BeNeDuctus Trial Investigators.J Pediatr. 2026 Sep 17;299:115292. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2026.115292. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42637114 Individually Targeted Human Milk Fortification: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Belfort MB, Ahtam B, Bell KA, Berger P, Cherkerzian S, Ellard D, Foster L, Fusch C, Gagoski B, Grant PE, Kuncham M, Pepin H, Solti M, Steele T, Woodward L, Inder T.JAMA Pediatr. 2026 Sep 14:e264220. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4220. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42734908 Probiotic Implementation and Necrotizing Enterocolitis Risk in Preterm Infants. Imren C, Jongejans V, Onland W, Keyzer-Dekker CMG, Been JV, Derikx JPM, van Kaam AH, Simons SHP, Twisk JWR, van den Akker CHP, Vermeulen MJ.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Aug 3;9(8):e2631601. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31601.PMID: 42671836 Free PMC article. Potential Neonatal Donors in Australia: A National Cohort Study. Barzegar R, Cavazzoni E, Popat H, Wong G.Pediatrics. 2026 Sep 3:e2025075110. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-075110. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42686207 The Untapped Potential of Organ Donation from the NICU. Nguyen BV, Coloma M, Crouch EE.Pediatrics. 2026 Sep 3:e2026076954. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-076954. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42686210 No abstract available. Prenatal Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Use and the Risk of Autism and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Sibling-Matched Cohorts. Luo S, Gong Q, Ai Y, Zhang J, Chan L, Wong WCW, Ip P, Chan EWY, Tanuseputro P, Wong ICK, Wan EYF.JAMA Intern Med. 2026 Sep 1;186(9):1102-1111. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.2215.PMID: 42371637 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - [Neo News] - 📌 Does Tylenol in Pregnancy Really Cause Autism or ADHD? | 02 Oct 2026 | 00:21:54 | |
Does Tylenol in pregnancy cause autism or ADHD? In this edition of Neo News, Ben and Eli break down a major JAMA Internal Medicine study from Hong Kong that followed hundreds of thousands of mother-child pairs and used a sibling-matched design to answer the question. The verdict: no association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism spectrum disorder or ADHD, regardless of timing, pattern, or dose. But data alone doesn't win hearts. The conversation turns to the bedside: how do we explain study methodology to families without dismissing their concerns? Eli shares his approach to vaccine hesitancy in the NICU, built on continuity, persistence, and transparency, and draws lessons from journalism about corrections, trust, and why showing up matters. Tune in. ---- Prenatal Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Use and the Risk of Autism and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Sibling-Matched Cohorts. Luo S, Gong Q, Ai Y, Zhang J, Chan L, Wong WCW, Ip P, Chan EWY, Tanuseputro P, Wong ICK, Wan EYF.JAMA Intern Med. 2026 Sep 1;186(9):1102-1111. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.2215.PMID: 42371637 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Should organ donation be part of every neonatal end-of-life conversation? | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:27:51 | |
In this Journal Club episode, Daphna reviews the first national estimate of potential neonatal organ donors, a Pediatrics cohort study from 23 Australian NICUs, along with its companion commentary. Of 1,760 infants who died in the NICU between 2012 and 2022 at 35 weeks corrected age or later, about one in three met conservative eligibility criteria. Most would have donated after circulatory death, and a smaller group with severe HIE could potentially have donated after neurological determination of death. They discuss referral timing, outcomes of en bloc kidney transplants from neonatal donors, and how NICUs can offer families this option as part of end-of-life care. ---- Potential Neonatal Donors in Australia: A National Cohort Study. Barzegar R, Cavazzoni E, Popat H, Wong G.Pediatrics. 2026 Sep 3:e2025075110. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-075110. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42686207 The Untapped Potential of Organ Donation from the NICU. Nguyen BV, Coloma M, Crouch EE.Pediatrics. 2026 Sep 3:e2026076954. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-076954. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42686210 No abstract available. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - [Journal Club] - 📌 What did two Dutch NICUs learn from routine probiotics in preterm infants? | 30 Sep 2026 | 00:22:15 | |
In this Journal Club episode, Ben reviews a JAMA Network Open study from two Dutch Level IV NICUs. It examined NEC before and after routine implementation of a three-strain probiotic in 1,413 infants born before 30 weeks or under 1,000 grams. NEC fell from 11.9% to 5.3%, and late-onset sepsis also declined. But non-NEC mortality rose after implementation. NEC also dropped in an unexposed reference cohort, and one infant died of B. infantis sepsis. Ben and Daphna discuss how baseline NEC rates, seasonal patterns, and number needed to harm should shape how units weigh probiotic use. ---- Probiotic Implementation and Necrotizing Enterocolitis Risk in Preterm Infants. Imren C, Jongejans V, Onland W, Keyzer-Dekker CMG, Been JV, Derikx JPM, van Kaam AH, Simons SHP, Twisk JWR, van den Akker CHP, Vermeulen MJ.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Aug 3;9(8):e2631601. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31601.PMID: 42671836 Free PMC article. As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Does targeted fortification change brain growth at term? | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:17:53 | |
In this Journal Club episode, Daphna presents a JAMA Pediatrics randomized trial led by Mandy Belfort and Terrie Inder. It tested whether point-of-care human milk analysis, used to individually target protein and fat fortification, improves outcomes in infants born at 24 to 30 weeks. Milk was analyzed every weekday with the Miris analyzer. Fortification in the intervention group was adjusted to meet protein and energy targets. Growth, body composition by air displacement plethysmography, and term-equivalent brain MRI were no different from standard fortification, and all infants met recommended intakes. Two-year outcomes will be reported separately. ---- Individually Targeted Human Milk Fortification: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Belfort MB, Ahtam B, Bell KA, Berger P, Cherkerzian S, Ellard D, Foster L, Fusch C, Gagoski B, Grant PE, Kuncham M, Pepin H, Solti M, Steele T, Woodward L, Inder T.JAMA Pediatr. 2026 Sep 14:e264220. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4220. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42734908 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #469 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Early ibuprofen or waiting, does the PDA choice show up at two years? | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:24:21 | |
In this Journal Club episode, Ben and Daphna review the 24-month follow-up of the BeNeDuctus trial, which compared expectant management with early ibuprofen for PDA in infants born before 28 weeks. Survival without neurodevelopmental impairment was identical in both groups, at 49%. Ben places the findings alongside Baby-OSCAR, the PDA trial, TRIOCAPI, and SMART-PDA, and explains why a neutral result does not mean no PDA should ever be treated. The conversation then turns to how targeted neonatal echocardiography and lung ultrasound are changing bedside PDA assessment, and previews an upcoming hemodynamics series with Dr. Gabriel Altit. ---- Long-Term Outcomes of Expectant Management versus Early Ibuprofen for Patent Ductus Arteriosus: 24-Month Follow-Up of the BeNeDuctus Trial. Apers WMJ, Hundscheid T, Kooi EMW, Onland W, Vijlbrief D, Steiner K, Donders R, Mulder AL, de Boode WP; BeNeDuctus Trial Investigators.J Pediatr. 2026 Sep 17;299:115292. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2026.115292. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42637114 As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #468 - 🚀 [Tech Tuesday] - What Would A Shared Language For Feeding Look Like At The Bedside? | 25 Sep 2026 | 00:39:53 | |
Feeding in the NICU is rarely one person's job, yet the language around it changes from nurse to therapist to physician to parent. In this Tech Tuesday episode, Ben and Daphna sit down with Lisa Kleinz and Erin Lesage of Dr. Brown's Medical to unpack feeding together, a philosophy built on team approach, family at the center, and feeding that begins on day one rather than at first bottle. They discuss what separates cue-based feeding from a truly standardized Infant-Driven Feeding® Program, the outcomes reported so far, and why nearly half of NICU graduates still struggle with feeding at home. A practical conversation about culture, consistency, and shared language. https://www.drbrownsmedical.com/infant-driven-feeding-program/infant-driven-feeding-program-about/ As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||
| #467 - Navigating the Future of Pediatric Healthcare Funding | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:57:04 | |
Ben sits down with Dr. Shetal Shah and AAP federal advocacy director Stephanie Glier to unpack HR1, the sweeping reconciliation bill that could cut $1.15 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over the next decade. With 40% of US births and up to 65% of NICU graduates covered by Medicaid, the stakes for neonatology are enormous. Shetal and Stephanie break down state directed payments, provider taxes, shortened retroactive coverage windows, and new work requirements, explaining how administrative friction alone could push families out of coverage. They also offer a clear playbook: connect with your AAP state chapter, share bedside stories with policymakers, and don't be more intimidated by a congressional office than by a resuscitation. ---- AAP Advocacy page: https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/?srsltid=AfmBOoqcnlKDsPZkpNg6z6U7OlOuBqUiuCtWHrUPmRGzfqDiQEl-vf7s Myers CN, Beck AF. H.R. 1’s Medicaid cuts threaten children’s health. Health Affairs Forefront. January 20, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/h-r-1-s-medicaid-cuts-threaten-children-s-health Little J, Kohler A. How H.R. 1 cuts and changes to Medicaid played out in 2026 state legislative sessions (Part 2). Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. July 2, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/02/how-h-r-1-cuts-and-changes-to-medicaid-played-out-in-2026-state-legislative-sessions-part-2/ Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. Implications of H.R. 1 – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.amcp.org/H.R.1 Park E. New CMS guidance on H.R. 1's restrictions of state directed payments. Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. February 4, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/02/04/new-cms-guidance-on-h-r-1s-restrictions-of-state-directed-payments/ Mudumala A, Mohamed M, Tolbert J, Burns A. The impact of H.R. 1 on two Medicaid eligibility rules. KFF. September 22, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/the-impact-of-h-r-1-on-two-medicaid-eligibility-rules/ As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy! | |||