The department provides intensive and non-intensive development-oriented care for (extremely) preterm infants and full-term newborns with a wide range of conditions, including major congenital (cardiac) surgical disorders. The department readily collaborates on clinical research involving this specific patient population; research proposals are very welcome.
Epidemiological research explores various areas of neonatology using an extensive clinical database dating back to 2001 (NICaudit).
Clinical research focuses on procedural pain management in newborns.
Research into neuromotor risk factors and outcomes in children with congenital heart defects, in collaboration with the Department of Paediatric Cardiology and the Centre for Developmental Disorders in Ghent.
As a member of SCENE (Separation and Closeness Experiences in the Neonatal Environment), a multidisciplinary group of international professionals, the department is involved in research into how and why parent-child physical and emotional closeness varies between neonatal units, the short- and long-term effects of closeness and separation on infants and parents, and how the health and well-being of children and parents can be optimised.
Services
- Consultancy (congenital infections, prenatal drug use, asphyxia)
- Patient population: historical (database) and current, for clinical drug trials, epidemiological studies, etc.
- Imaging of the cerebrum
- As an internationally recognised NIDCAP training centre, the department organises certified FINE and NIDCAP training courses (FINE = Family and Infant Neurodevelopmental Education; NIDCAP = Newborn Individualised Developmental Care and Assessment Program)
- The department organises (advanced) neonatal life support training courses for external healthcare providers