Premature Birth

Using a four-dimensional microscope that allows them to watch a tissue putting itself together, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have achieved a rare feat in science — they have shattered a long-standing dogma about how the lung develops. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have constructed a single-cell “atlas” of lung development that tracks multiple cell types over time. Read More

By defining the clinical and genetic factors that predict treatment response, Vanderbilt investigators aim to personalize therapy for a common heart complication in preterm infants. Read More

Ventral skin-to-skin contact has been shown to improve premature infants’ health, both short- and long-term. The baby is undressed or unwrapped and placed against the mother’s bare skin, nestled against her chest. A cozier name for this method of holding a new baby is “kangaroo care.” Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a high-throughput assay that will aid in identifying new compounds to treat preterm labor or postpartum bleeding. Read More

An interdisciplinary team of biologists and medical researchers have created a new platform, which they call GEneSTATION specifically designed to leverage the growing knowledge of human genomics and evolution to advance scientific understanding of human pregnancy and translate it into new treatments for the problems that occur when this complex process goes awry. Read More

Understanding the relationship between the thinning and rupture of fetal membranes and the presence of bacteria could lead to treatment and prevention strategies for premature birth. Read More

Antacids that block a certain enzyme pose a risk for a common cardiac problem in premature infants. Read More

Jeffrey Whitsett, M.D., chief of the Section of Neonatology, Perinatal and Pulmonary Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 28. Read More

Carolyn Thombs, president of Friends of Children’s Hospital, cuts the ribbon to unveil a recognition wall during an event last week celebrating the organization’s 40th anniversary. (photo by Steve Green) The Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt will commit $1 million to combat… Read More

It may be possible to prevent preterm birth by modifying the father’s diet before a baby's conception. Read More