By Dr. Namrata Todurkar Between 2% to 6% of premature infants are discharged from the NICU with feeding tubes. Nasogastric (NG) tubes and Gastrostomy (G/GT) tubes are the primary methods. If your medical team has brought up the idea of going home with a temporary feeding tube, it is completely normal to feel a mix of excitement and anxiety. This blog will break down tube feeding in NICU graduates, why it is used, and how it acts as a bridge to independent feeding in the comfo

It’s hard to really get it, unless you’ve been there. "I felt like a cow, pumping every three hours. I was exhausted and emotional and it felt like something robotic instead of relational... not anything like how I pictured it would be," NICU mom Jenny shared. Parents may be recovering from a difficult birth while learning to establish milk supply, navigate medical challenges, and support a baby who may not yet be able to feed at the breast. It is no surprise that many famili

"I have a vivid memory of watching my husband carry our sobbing three-year-old out of the hospital. She was protesting furiously because I was staying another night with her baby sisters instead of coming home with her." Catriona Matthews shared this memory during a Preemie Chats presentation on supporting siblings during a NICU stay. Her experience is one many NICU families can relate to. For families with children at home, a NICU admission can feel like being pulled in two

A newly published paper is drawing attention across the neonatal community. The paper, Multi-strain probiotics for Canadian preterm infants: a call for action, highlights growing evidence that multi-strain probiotics may help reduce the risk of NEC, late-onset sepsis, and death in very preterm infants. The authors argue that the evidence supporting probiotic use has become increasingly difficult to ignore and call for greater consistency in access to this intervention across

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals around the world restricted parental presence in NICUs in an effort to protect patients and staff. But those restrictions also highlighted something families have long known: Parents are not visitors. Parents are essential members of their baby's care team. Following the groundbreaking Presence Study led by Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo, MOM-LINC Lab, and Fabiana Bacchini, CPBF, 13 evidence-based recommendations were developed to help pr

When the winners of CPBF's first-ever national Kangaroo-a-thon were announced on June 10, not every participating NICU took home a prize. But for many teams, that wasn't the point. One participating NICU shared that although they didn't win, they felt like they had. During the month-long challenge, their team more than doubled the number of Kangaroo Care hours they achieved the previous year, despite having many new and early-career staff members. That sentiment reflects what

Most baby milestone cards celebrate first smiles, first steps, and first birthdays. And while those milestones are important, they may not be the milestones that matter most to every family. True family-integrated care begins with listening. When healthcare providers take the time to ask about a family's traditions, values, and preferences, they create opportunities for stronger relationships, greater trust, and more culturally safe care. For some Indigenous families, meanin

Do you know a business that believes every family deserves support during one of the most challenging times of their lives? Do you work for an organization that values family-centred care, mental health, healthcare, or community impact? If so, we'd love your help. On November 5, 2026, the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation will host its second annual Little Lights, Big Hearts Gala, themed Brighter Beginnings for NICU Families. Funds raised through the gala help support CPBF

Healthcare teams across Canada recognize that babies do better when families are present and involved in their baby’s care. But many NICUs haven’t unlocked the secret yet in involving families to their maximum capacity. That's where a new resource, From the Heart, can help. Developed through a collaboration between the CPBF, the SickKids Infant and Early Mental Health Program, and Family Integrated Care (FiCare), From the Heart is a beautiful, engaging resource that was creat

By Heather Cresswell, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner If you are the parent of a premature baby and wonder if and when your baby should get vaccinations, you are not alone. April 26-May 2 is National Immunization Awareness Week, so what better time than now to dive into this important topic! Read on to learn all about vaccinations and premature babies. Vaccination and immunization: are they the same? People often use the terms vaccination and immunization interchangeably. They

By Dr. Namrata Todurkar Leaving the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with your baby is a momentous occasion, a mix of relief, excitement, and perhaps a touch of anxiety as you navigate follow-up care. One term you might hear during this transition is "nephrocalcinosis" – a complex-sounding word that simply means calcium deposits in the kidneys. While it might sound worrying, understanding why it happens and what it means for your baby can provide clarity and peace of mind.

As you probably know, World Prematurity Day is the most important day of the year for our community and each year, it is gaining in global momentum. In Canada alone, we had 57 landmarks lit up while CPBF hosted 21 in-person celebrations in hospitals across the country. And in total, 107 countries around the world participated in World Prematurity Day activities and events. For many of us, November 17 has become a familiar date; a day marked in purple, filled with stories, a

In March 2020, the world changed overnight. Hospitals tightened restrictions. Volunteers were asked to step back. NICU families, already navigating the emotional intensity of prematurity, suddenly found themselves even more alone. At CPBF, we knew we couldn’t let connection disappear when families needed it most. So, we tried something new. That spring, Preemie Chats was born — a virtual space where parents and healthcare providers could still learn, connect, and feel sup

There is a quiet moment that happens every day in neonatal follow-up clinics. A parent sits across from a clinician. Their child is beside them. There are forms, clipboards, screens, and time limits. On paper, it looks like care. But care is not experienced on paper. Care is experienced in the body. At the 2026 CHILD-BRIGHT Conference, speakers Jessica Green and Stephanie Glegg shared a story from a follow-up appointment that many parents will recognize. As the conversatio

What if one of the most powerful tools in neonatal care was already in the room? Skin-to-skin care, also known as kangaroo care, is not new. The evidence is clear: it stabilizes infants, supports brain development, improves breastfeeding outcomes, and protects parental mental health. Yet, across Canada, it isn’t consistently happening. In 2025, the national Family Engagement EPIQ (Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality) Group was formed with a bold vision: to make fa

In neonatal units from coast to coast, something beautiful is taking shape this May. For the first time ever, we’re hosting the National Kangaroo-a-thon, a friendly but powerful nationwide challenge that puts what matters most front and centre: parents and their babies. At its heart, the Kangaroo-a-thon is a celebration of the time parents spend doing kangaroo care. That’s the science-backed practice of holding a baby skin-to-skin, heart to heart, a method shown to reduce s

Last November, something extraordinary happened. In a room filled with candlelight, music, and stories of resilience, the preemie community came together for the very first Little Lights, Big Hearts Gala, and it sold out. What we expected to be a meaningful fundraiser became something even more powerful: a night of connection, celebration, and shared purpose. Families, healthcare providers, researchers, and advocates gathered not just to support premature babies, but to hon

Every year, the EPIQ conference brings together Canada’s level-3 NICUs to share knowledge, strengthen quality improvement, and move neonatal care forward. But it’s the people that truly makes the EPIQ conference special. The 2026 conference in Banff highlighted the growing and essential role of NICU parent partners in shaping better care. Families are not an “add-on” to quality improvement. They are at the heart of it. At the pre-conference Family Integrated Care workshop

By Dr. Namrata Todurkar For decades, the "graduation" of a preterm baby from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) followed a strict ritual: the baby had to be off caffeine and "apnea-free" for at least five to seven days. If they weren't, they stayed in the hospital or went home hooked up to a bulky, often frustrating, home apnea monitor. However, neonatal medicine is shifting. Today, more families are walking out of the NICU with a prescription for caffeine in hand—and no

In a recent CHILD-BRIGHT Network webinar, Fabiana Bacchini, Executive Director of CPBF , joined a discussion on the challenges families face when transitioning from the NICU to home. The episode, “Nurse Navigators to Support Neonatal Transition,” highlights the urgent need for better psychosocial support for parents of infants with medical complexities. Parents in the NICU often experience elevated stress, anxiety, and depression , and these challenges intensify during the m