Our Neonatal department is research active with a number of opportunities for families to get involved.

 SurfON

The SurfON study is looking at the best way to care for babies born 2 – 6 weeks before their due date, who suffer with severe breathing problems. The lungs of healthy full term babies naturally produce a substance called surfactant that helps to keep the tiny air sacs in the lungs open, making it easier for them to breathe. Babies born early often do not make enough natural surfactant, or their surfactant does not work properly.

For babies born between 34 and 38 weeks of pregnancy and who are having difficulty with their breathing, SurfON is exploring whether it’s more beneficial to the baby’s recovery to give a natural surfactant medication into the lungs early, when the baby first starts to have problems, or to wait and see if they will improve without it.

BASE

The BASE study is a study for babies who are born more than 9 weeks early who have a condition called metabolic acidosis. This means there is a build-up of acid in the blood.

Sodium bicarbonate is a drug that is believed to lower acid levels in the blood and help the working of the heart. However, there are also potential side-effects which may affect the blood flow to the brain and other organs in the body.

As sodium bicarbonate to treat metabolic acidosis has never been properly studied, some doctors choose to use it as a treatment, and some do not. BASE is hoping to find out if giving sodium bicarbonate impacts the short and long-term health of preterm babies, to help improve medical practice and treatment in the future.

NeoGASTRIC

The neoGASTRIC study is comparing two ways of caring for babies who are born more than 6 weeks early and having tube feeds (milk that is given via a tube into the baby’s stomach).

One way is to measure how much milk is left in the baby’s stomach before the next feed is given, and the other is to not measure the stomach contents before a tube feed. Both care practices already take place in neonatal units across the UK, but we do not know which one is better. neoGASTRIC is comparing both practices to find out which one is safer.

How to get involved

If you are interested in your baby participating in research and would like some more information about the studies we are supporting, please contact the Neonatal Research team at mtw-tr.neonatal-research@nhs.net or on 01622 477582.