# NICHD Neonatal Research Network Organization · id `maternal:nichd-nrn` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `fc5a600ec7387e71` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Newborn Browse, care area: Newborn care; Preterm and sick newborns ## In plain language A US network of neonatal intensive care units that studies newborn care, especially for extremely preterm and very low birth weight babies. It was formed in 1986 and runs both observational studies and trials. Its registry of extremely preterm births at 26 centres from 1993 to 2012 shows survival and care changing over twenty years, while bronchopulmonary dysplasia rose between 2009 and 2012 in babies born at 26 to 27 weeks. ## Technical summary The network's own page says it was formed in 1986 through the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch of the institute that supports it, is a collaborative network of neonatal intensive care units across the United States and comprises 15 clinical centers and a data coordinating center (page as fetched on 2026-10-15; the trends paper counts 26 network centers over 1993 to 2012). The registry lists the network as lead sponsor of SUPPORT. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Extremely preterm infants at 26 Neonatal Research Network centres, 1993 to 2012 Recipient: Newborn; Population: A prospective registry of 34,636 infants born at 22 to 28 weeks of gestation with birth weight of 401 to 1500 g at 26 network centres between 1993 and 2012. Major morbidities were reported for infants who survived more than 12 hours.; Care setting: Academic neonatal intensive care centres of the Neonatal Research Network in the United States (the abstract's conclusion says US academic centers); Geography: United States; Life stage: Extremely preterm infants, newborn period; Gestational age: 22 weeks 0 days (154 days) to 28 weeks 6 days (202 days), measured at birth; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Care practices, major morbidities (severe necrotizing enterocolitis, infection, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe intracranial haemorrhage, cystic periventricular leukomalacia and severe retinopathy of prematurity) and survival, by birth year. ### A prospective registry of 34,636 infants born at 22 to 28 weeks of gestation at 26 Neonatal Research Network centres between 1993 and 2012 reports these changes. Antenatal corticosteroid use rose from 24% (348 of 1431 infants) to 87% (1674 of 1919), and caesarean delivery from 44% to 64%. Delivery room intubation fell from 80% to 65%, and CPAP without ventilation rose from 7% in 2002 to 11% in 2012. Survival rose between 2009 and 2012 at 23 weeks (27% to 33%) and 24 weeks (63% to 65%), with no change at 22, 26 and 28 weeks and smaller relative increases at 25 and 27 weeks, and survival without major morbidity rose by about 2% a year at 25 to 28 weeks with no change at 22 to 24 weeks. Several morbidities declined, but bronchopulmonary dysplasia increased between 2009 and 2012 for infants at 26 to 27 weeks of gestation (at 26 weeks, 50% to 55%; P < .001). - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Observational - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Newborn; Population: A prospective registry of 34,636 infants born at 22 to 28 weeks of gestation with birth weight of 401 to 1500 g at 26 network centres between 1993 and 2012. Major morbidities were reported for infants who survived more than 12 hours.; Care setting: Academic neonatal intensive care centres of the Neonatal Research Network in the United States (the abstract's conclusion says US academic centers); Geography: United States; Life stage: Extremely preterm infants, newborn period; Gestational age: 22 weeks 0 days (154 days) to 28 weeks 6 days (202 days), measured at birth; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Care practices, major morbidities (severe necrotizing enterocolitis, infection, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe intracranial haemorrhage, cystic periventricular leukomalacia and severe retinopathy of prematurity) and survival, by birth year. - Limitations: Only the abstract was read. This is an observational registry at US academic centres: it describes trends over twenty years and cannot show which practice caused any change. The abstract reports adjusted relative risks for some survival changes, which are not repeated here. Morbidities are reported for infants who survived more than 12 hours. - Last checked: 2026-10-15 - Sources: 1. Supports: Trends in Care Practices, Morbidity, and Mortality of Extremely Preterm Neonates, 1993-2012 (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS sentences 1 to 8 and CONCLUSIONS sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:25Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: e03b015cd6fd27a220a3defd351ea3b2f7b9ec0bd3be0ac2878c50bae8089035. How it applies: Care practices, survival and bronchopulmonary dysplasia by year. 2. Background: Trends in Care Practices, Morbidity, and Mortality of Extremely Preterm Neonates, 1993-2012 (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, OBJECTIVE, DESIGN and MAIN OUTCOMES. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:49:25Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: e03b015cd6fd27a220a3defd351ea3b2f7b9ec0bd3be0ac2878c50bae8089035. How it applies: Registry, population and the morbidities counted. 3. Background: Neonatal Research Network (NRN) (NICHD) (Webpage, edition The page as fetched on 2026-10-14 (cluster F) and again on 2026-10-15 (cluster N, a second snapshot).) Locator: Overview, paragraph 1. Retrieved 2026-10-15T13:52:33Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: d5936221c803568766358870c32220644d9fc28ae187eeb4474ef52cf62b83f1. How it applies: The network, from the NICHD page; public domain. ## Connected pages - Network supported by NICHD: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (`maternal:nichd`) - Authored: Whole-body hypothermia for neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NEJM 2005) (`maternal:pub-nichd-cooling-nejm-2005`) - Sponsors: NICHD whole-body cooling trial for birth asphyxia (`maternal:nichd-whole-body-cooling-trial`) - Sponsors: SUPPORT trial (CPAP against surfactant; oxygen saturation targets) (`maternal:support-trial`) ## Provenance Content hash: fbf7c0917a78365f90f1a5da47c086c65cc8ab567a8244bbba911e1f01f23325 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-15 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-15