Comprehensive Care for Six Newborn Challenges: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Support Lecture Pack

Unsettled behaviour in the early weeks and months of a baby's life is a common reason for presentation to a healthcare provider. Parents have worries about reflux, allergies, colic and pain. The distress and worry can also be associated with mental health difficulties in the caregiver(s), such as anxiety and depression.

Parents often eliminate foods or trial medications without clear indications due to their perception of their baby's pain and distress. Managing the healthy but unsettled baby involves taking a holistic view of unsettled behaviours shaped by an understanding of neurodevelopment, family dynamics and caregiving practices, and evidence-based interventions. This presentation will review the research on neurodevelopment and the distress curve, reasons for crying, and what we know about how to reduce distress.

This presentation will explore how tongue-tie impacts feeding in infants. Learn more about what we know about tongue function in relation to infant feeding and how this informs our assessment of babies who are having difficulty with feeding.

The various tools available to assess for tongue-tie in infancy will be explained, highlighting the key functional deficits to observe for. The rationale for treatment in infants, the procedures used to treat tongue-tie in babies, and the potential complications arising from treatment and treatment efficacy will be discussed.

Critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) are serious malformations that are an important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. The clinical presentations of CCHD are shock, cyanosis, or respiratory distress, which may be similar to that of other neonatal conditions.

Failure to diagnose these conditions early on after birth may result in acute cardiovascular collapse and death. Simple screening methods have been found to be efficient in distinguishing newborns with CCHD and other hypoxemic illnesses, which may otherwise be potentially life-threatening. Risk factors, symptoms, screening methodologies and indications, and proper management strategies will be discussed.

This lecture will describe the normal physiology of infant blood sugar regulation before diving into a detailed conversation about neonatal hypoglycemia. We will explore risk factors for hypoglycemia as well as observation, management and treatment protocols for infants experiencing symptomatic and asymptomatic low blood sugars in the newborn period.

Latch problems are common among new breast/chestfeeding parents. Research has identified that latch issues are one of the biggest barriers to breast/chestfeeding success, along with painful, sore nipples. Not surprisingly, latch issues, including babies who are not latching at all, may lead to early breastfeeding cessation without professional help.

Parents who are struggling with latch may also have perceived low milk supply and decreased bonding with their baby. By investigating reasons illustrated through a series of case studies, attendees will be able to identify how to help these families. Attendees will come away with solid assessment and intervention tools designed to help struggling dyads turn latch challenges into successful breast/chestfeeding.

Jaundice is an important problem in the first week of life. It is a cause of concern for the midwife and a source of anxiety for the parents. Jaundice is the most common morbidity in the neonatal period with nearly 60% of term newborn becoming visibly jaundiced in the first week of life. Preterm babies are at greater risk. While in most cases, it is benign and no intervention is required, approximately 5-10 % of newborns have clinically significant hyper-bilirubinemia mandating the use of phototherapy .

Neonates who are exclusively breastfeeding have a different pattern and degree of jaundice as compared to artificially fed babies. Because high bilirubin levels may be toxic to the developing central nervous system and may cause neurological impairment even in term newborns, it is important to know how to determine if a baby is significantly jaundiced, risk factors involved and when treatment is indicated.