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Overview
Give preterm babies a strong start for a brighter future
Friday, November 14, 2025 | 2-hour Live Event | 1pm EST
Join us as we mark World Prematurity Day with a powerful live Preemie Chat special featuring
eight guests including parents, clinicians, and researchers, exploring new insights and real
stories shaping the future of preterm care in Canada.
What to Expect
This two-hour event brings together leading voices to discuss topics that matter most to families
and healthcare providers:
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Human Milk – The Neuroprotection of Oral Enjoyment by Offering Milk Drops
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Skin-to-Skin: Myths and Truths – Separating fact from fiction in this vital early practice
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CIHR Research and Funding – Building Better Beginnings Through Funding Preterm Birth Research
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AI in the NICU – Using technology to improve care
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Developmental Care – Creating environments that nurture growth and resilience
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Parents as Partners in Neonatal Pain – Families as essential members of the care team
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A Family’s Story – A moving, real-life journey through prematurity
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Delayed umbilical cord clamping in the context of prematurity: benefits and clinical considerations
Every year, approximately 32,000 babies in Canada are born too soon. The 2025 World
Prematurity Day theme: “Give preterm babies a strong start for a brighter future” reminds us that
access to quality, equitable care from the very beginning can change everything.
This event brings together science, lived experience, and advocacy to inspire action and hope
for families across the country. Don’t miss it!
Registration
Fabiana Bacchini
Give preterm babies a strong start for a brighter future
Summary comming soon
Bio:
Fabiana Bacchini is the Executive Director of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF), a journalist, and the author of From Surviving to Thriving: A Mother’s Journey Through Infertility, Loss, and Miracles. Her advocacy began in the NICU with her premature son, inspiring her involvement with the Family Integrated Care (FiCare) model and her ongoing work supporting families of preemies.
She collaborates with researchers and organizations in Canada and abroad to ensure family perspectives are integrated into neonatal care and research. Fabiana serves on multiple national and international committees, including FiCare, EFCNI, and the Canadian Preterm Birth Network, and is a founding member of the Global Alliance for Newborn Care (GLANCE). Her leadership in family engagement has earned her several awards and recognitions.
Jaylee Hilliard
AI in the NICU: Humanizing Innovation for the Smallest Patients
Technology is rapidly transforming neonatal care—but innovation must never come at the cost of human connection. In this talk, Jaylee Hilliard, a neonatal nurse leader and NICU mother, explores how artificial intelligence can amplify compassion rather than replace it. From contactless monitoring to predictive analytics and communication tools that bridge families and care teams, Jaylee highlights real-world examples of AI designed with empathy and intention. Grounded in both clinical expertise and personal experience, her message reminds us that the heart of neonatal care will always be human—and when thoughtfully designed, AI can help us protect that heart while giving preterm and critically ill babies the strongest start for a brighter future.
Bio:
Vice President of Clinical Strategy, AngelEye Health & NICU Mom
Jaylee Hilliard is a neonatal nurse leader and two-time NICU mom, now serving as Vice President of Clinical Strategy at AngelEye Health, in Texas, United States. With over a decade of experience in neonatal and pediatric care—including as Director of Neonatal Services and Pediatric ECMO at McLane Children’s Baylor Scott & White—Jaylee now leads clinical innovation that strengthens family engagement, improves outcomes, and streamlines care through technology.
Her personal journey through the NICU with both of her daughters—one born at 32 weeks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and another with a brief stay in 2024—gives her a powerful dual perspective. She is passionate about bridging the gap between compassionate care and digital health solutions that keep families connected when it matters most.
Chantel Morin
Coming soon
Bio:
Chantel Morin is a Master's-prepared clinical nurse educator specializing in the Family Birthing, NICU, and Paediatric Units. She is a trauma-informed certified professional and has completed a course in compassionate activism. Chantel holds certification from the National Association of Neonatal Nurses as a Developmental Care Specialist and has an advanced practice certificate in neonatal nursing. Additionally, she serves as a director on the Canadian Association of Neonatal Nurses and is a partner and associate with the Quebec company Les Soin du Development (Developmental Care).
Dr. Jessica Duby
Myth Busters: Skin-to-Skin Care Edition
This talk will examine new evidence overturning the belief that early skin-to-skin contact should be delayed to prevent intraventricular hemorrhage. We will explore how early parent–infant contact supports stability and outcomes even in the most fragile newborns.
Bio:
Dr. Jessica Duby is a neonatologist at The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and The Ottawa Hospital and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa. She is passionate about family engagement in the NICU both in resource-rich and resource-limited environments. Nationally, she serves as the co-Chair of the Canadian EPIQ Family Engagement Committee, and internationally, she has an active research partnership to adapt Family Integrated Care to NICUs in Uganda.
Dr. Sarah McDonald
Topic comming soon
Bio:
Dr. Sarah McDonald is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University. Her research as a Clinician-Scientist is supported by a Tier II Canada Research Chair.
SHer research focuses on prevention and prevention of preterm birth and its sequelae.
She loves food, especially “snacking” and so nicknamed the trial she is involved with “SNACS”.
She received her medical degree from the University of Toronto, followed by an Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency at the University of Ottawa and a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, and completed her Masters in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto.
She is an Associate Member of the Departments of Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (formerly Clinical Epidemiology, and Biostatistics) and Diagnostic Imaging.
Dr. Christine Chambers
CIHR at 25: Building Better Beginnings Through Funding Preterm Birth Research
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s federal funding agency for health research, this segment will highlight how CIHR funding has advanced research in preterm birth. These investments fuelled new discoveries, strengthened national research capacity, helped translate evidence into better care, and improved outcomes for babies and their families.
Bio:
Dr. Christine Chambers is an international leader in children’s pain research and a national voice for children’s health. As Scientific Director of the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, she creates connections and partnerships with others to advance research, mobilize knowledge and improve the lives of children, youths and families. She is a professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Children’s Pain at Dalhousie University, a faculty member in the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research at IWK Health Centre, and Scientific Director of Solutions for Kids Pain (SKIP).
Barb O’Rourke
The Neuroprotection of Oral Enjoyment by Offering Milk Drops
Premature infants routinely experience invasive oral procedures that may negatively impact oral sensory and oral motor function. The critical window of feeding opportunity has opened wider with an evidence-based practice that has improved feeding outcomes while significantly shortening the length of stay in the hospital for very premature infants.
Bio:
Barb O’Rourke is a clinical staff and research nurse from Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, IA, United States. As an active neonatal clinician with over 30 years of experience, Barb is passionate about caring for extremely low birth weight infants and neuroprotective care. She has been a driver of multiple developmental and feeding initiatives including the Milk Drop Research Project. Barb is a published author, participates in ongoing clinical neonatal research, and is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant.
Dr. Jacques Balayla
Delayed umbilical cord clamping in the context of prematurity: benefits and clinical considerations
This presentation will explain why delayed cord clamping - waiting a short moment before cutting the umbilical cord after birth - can make a big difference for babies. We will look at how those extra seconds allow more blood, oxygen, and stem cells to flow from the placenta to the baby, helping protect the brain, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the need for medical interventions. We will also discuss what parents and healthcare teams can expect in the delivery room, and why this gentle, natural step is becoming the recommended approach around the world for preterm newborns.
Bio:
Dr. Jacques Balayla is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist. He is now Faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University, and a clinical investigator at the Lady Davis Institue (LDI) of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada. During his training, Dr. Balayla obtained a certification in Human Genetics with distinction at Harvard University. Likewise, he graduated from the Clinician-Investigator Program (CIP) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada with honours and obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with honours at the University of Montreal's School of Public Health (ESPUM).
Dr. Balayla has been active in clinical research for 12 years. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including official guidelines on preimplantation genetic testing for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC). Most notably, he’s the primary investigator of “The Montreal Criteria for The Ethical Feasibility of Uterine Transplantation”, which have been adopted as an international standard when addressing the ethicality of uterine transplants.
Professor Mats Eriksson
Parents as partners in neonatal pain alleviation
All newborn infants are subjected to pain, which can have negative consequences. Parents are an essential resource to protect their babies from pain. This talk will help you understand how you can support your baby.
Bio:
Mats Eriksson has been a neonatal nurse for over 40 years and is a professor in pediatric nursing. The primary focus of his research is pain in newborn infants and how to involve parents in neonatal pain management. He has written several book chapters and over 100 scientific articles. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of GFCNI – Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants.