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Neonatal Care

Providing appropriate health care to newborn infants is associated with positive physical and developmental outcomes, often with lasting effects into childhood and adulthood. RAND research related to neonatal care includes studies on premature births and low birth weight babies, infant mortality, care and nutrition, and vulnerable populations.

Journal Article
Home Visiting for First-Time Parents: Community Innovation
We outline lessons from the First Born home visiting program for other universal programs, including the pros and cons of universal services, the expectation that universal programs will have population-level impact, and barriers to innovation.
May 25, 2023
Journal Article
Standardizing the Clinical Definition of Opioid Withdrawal in the Neonate
This paper addresses challenges in clinical care, quality improvement, research, and public policy for prenatally opioid-exposed neonates by standardizing the clinical definition of opioid withdrawal.
Jan 4, 2022
Journal Article
A Comparison of Approaches to Identify Live Births Using the Medicaid Analytic eXtract
This study described and validated five approaches to identifying births using Medicaid data.
Nov 3, 2021
Blog
Nuclear Deterrence, COVID-19 and Infant Deaths, Criminal Justice Reform: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.
Oct 22, 2021
Journal Article
Association of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome and Infant Foster Care Entry
Researchers examined the association of county rates of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) and county-level characteristics with infant foster care entries. One in every ten diagnosed NOWS births was associated with a 41 percent higher rate of infant foster care entry.
Oct 20, 2021
Journal Article
Informing the Development of a Standardized Clinical Definition of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Protocol for a Modified-Delphi Expert Panel
The goal of this paper is to describe a protocol for a systematic expert panel process to inform the development of a clinical definition of neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Jul 23, 2021
Essay
Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk
Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help them.
Jul 1, 2021
Journal Article
Care Management Reduced Infant Mortality for Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees in Ohio
The Ohio Department of Medicaid introduced requirements to be delivered by Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). This study evaluated the impact of care management on reducing infant mortality in the largest Medicaid MCO in Ohio.
Feb 12, 2021
Research Brief
Using an Innovative Database and Machine Learning to Predict and Reduce Infant Mortality
Researchers created a unique database linking medical, social, and demographic information, then used machine learning techniques to evaluate risk of infant mortality and develop intervention recommendations to reduce each infant's risk of mortality
Feb 4, 2021
Journal Article
Measuring Childbirth Outcomes Using Administrative and Birth Certificate Data
The aim of this study was to develop a risk-adjusted composite measure of severe maternal morbidity and severe newborn morbidity based on administrative and birth certificate data.
Jan 22, 2021
Report
Examining Interventions to Address Infant Mortality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Poor birth and infant outcomes and pronounced racial disparities persist in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, despite robust maternal and child health and social service systems. Which interventions are the most effective and how does effectiveness vary for women with different risk and other factors?
Jan 6, 2021
Journal Article
Barriers and Facilitators of Kangaroo Mother Care Adoption in Five Chinese Hospitals: A Qualitative Study
We provided a comprehensive report on the multi-level KMC barriers and facilitators in China. We recommend policy interventions addressing these barriers and facilitators and increase family and peer support to improve KMC adoption in China.
Nov 12, 2020
Commentary
Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby
About half of all U.S. states now have policies that criminalize substance use during pregnancy, consider it grounds for civil commitment, or consider it child abuse or neglect. But research suggests that punitive policies aren't beneficial for infants or their mothers.
Jan 28, 2020
News Release
The NHS Spends Significantly Less on Pregnancy-Related Research Compared with Other Health Conditions
The National Health Service spends significantly less on pregnancy-related research compared with other health conditions. Funding for pregnancy research totaled £255 million from 2013 to 2017, or about £51 million a year. As pregnancy care costs the NHS £5.8 billion annually, this means that for every £1 spent on pregnancy care, less than 1 penny is spent on research.
Jan 14, 2020
Report
Pregnancy research review: Policy report
This study presents a review of UK pregnancy research needs and priorities, comparing this to current research expenditure and setting the findings in the context of NHS costs related to pregnancy.
Jan 13, 2020
Blog
AI Bias, Opioids, Afghanistan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the danger of artificial intelligence bias, infants with opioid withdrawal symptoms, peace talks in Afghanistan, and more.
Mar 15, 2019
Tool
Simulation of County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Rates Tool
This web-based tool aims to inform policymakers about the rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome by county across eight states from 2009 to 2015. This analysis is displayed via maps and interactive charts.
Mar 15, 2019
Commentary
Opioid-Dependent Newborns in My West Virginia Hometown Point to a Path Out of Drug Crisis
In small, rural towns like Bluefield, West Virginia, economies are hurting, the opioid epidemic is growing, and together they are taking a toll on a surprising population: pregnant women and their babies.
Mar 6, 2019
Report
Development of metrics to measure the impact of Tommy's work
This study presents metrics to help work out what Tommy's should measure and how Tommy's should report impact. The aim is to work out how each contributes to Tommy's desired outcomes, namely the reduction of stillbirth, preterm birth and miscarriage.
Sep 17, 2018
Multimedia
The Impact of the Opioid Crisis on Children
RAND adjunct physician policy researcher Stephen W. Patrick gives testimony at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families.
Feb 8, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Neonatal Care

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care