Early in your pregnancy, your doctor will ask lots of questions about your health, and perform routine tests to check for risks to you or your developing baby. If they think your pregnancy could be at a higher-than-usual risk for complications, they’ll connect you with specialists to guide you through the rest of your pregnancy. You’ll spend more time at the doctor’s office than you would otherwise. But you’ll also receive the support and expertise you need. Neonatologist David Sink, MD, explains.  Want more articles like this from pediatric experts you trust? Sign up for our newsletter ..read more

“She is a miracle. When she took her first breath, it was like music to my ears.”—Daryl Jackson You might say Olivia Jackson is a “miracle baby.” Her parents, Daryl and Gabrelle Jackson, certainly feel that way and are beyond grateful for the expert care their daughter received during her first few weeks of life at Connecticut Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Hartford. “She is a miracle,” said Daryl, who vividly recalls the harrowing details of his daughter’s birth and the frightening aftermath in which they thought they had lost her, followed by an amazing recovery that surpr ..read more

All newborn babies need special attention in the first few days of life to make sure they are healthy, but some need more care and monitoring, especially if they’re born early or with certain medical problems. That’s why many hospitals have specialized nurseries or neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).   Not all NICUs are the same. There are four main NICU levels that offer simple to complex newborn care depending on the baby’s needs. Connecticut Children’s and our Care Alliance partners follow the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Connecticut Children’s Dr. Annmarie G ..read more

Updated August 16, 2022 for additional recalled products at the Lyons Magnus plant. Lyons Magnus is a third party manufacturer for Abbott Laboratories.  (Originally published on February 22, 2022 and updated on March 1, 2022) August 16: The FDA recently announced a voluntary recall of products prepared at the Lyons Magnus Plant for concerns products could contain Cronobacter sakazakii and Clostridium botulinum (botulism). These products included Ensure Harvest, PediaSure Harvest, some Kate Farms products and some Glucerna products. Please see this link from the FDA for specific details a ..read more

Krystin Sylva always says her twins came into the world like a storm. Kali and Jada were 28-week preemies born during an actual ice storm in January – at 3:33 am, three seconds apart. They started life in the NICU at Danbury Hospital, receiving care from Connecticut Children’s neonatology experts thanks to an innovative Care Alliance with Nuvance Health. For the first month, Jada struggled while Kali thrived… Want more inspirational stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter. Subscribe Then, right around the time Jada’s health improved, Kali began to have some setbacks. She got an infecti ..read more

There are lots of myths and misconceptions about breastfeeding, so we sat down with Silvana Michael, a lactation nurse at Connecticut Children’s, to get answers to the most common questions.  How long should moms breastfeed? When we hear this question from moms, we ask them: What is your goal? Our job is really to help moms achieve their goals when it comes to breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)  recommends six months of exclusive breastfeeding and continued breast milk with food for up to a year. In June of 2022, the AAP updated their guidance to support continu ..read more

In the third trimester of pregnancy, Hattie and Donnie Donner went to one last ultrasound to check on Hattie’s thyroid levels. Her levels were fine, but something else wasn’t. The ultrasound picked up on two bubbles in the baby’s small intestines. Their baby boy had a rare, life-threatening condition called duodenal atresia. Just like that, everything they had been imagining and planning for the birth changed. “I was at 32 weeks, and we were starting over,” says Hattie. Her care was transferred to a team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and she and Donnie learned what lay ahead. They l ..read more

Seven-year-old Claire is never one to drag her feet. “She doesn’t walk, she bounces,” says mom Tracy. And that was true even before she was born, when at 33 weeks pregnant, doctors announced that baby Claire was on her way – seven weeks early. She would need highly specialized care from the moment she was born, including time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It was difficult news for Tracy and husband Steven to hear. But there was reassuring news too: Just one floor down from where Tracy would give birth, Connecticut Children’s operates an award-winning NICU at Hartford Hospital. Ye ..read more

When Amanda and Derek Williams learned they were expecting twins, they knew they would be introducing their two year old son to a doubly fun big brother experience. But stockpiling on diapers, wipes and onesies took an immediate backseat when one of their little boys was diagnosed in-utero with aortic coarctation – a congenital condition where the heart’s main blood vessel carrying oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to all other organs is narrowed. Notwithstanding, they were excited for the big day they could meet their sons – Bennett and Chase – knowing that Connecticut Children’s div ..read more

When Rose Robison first glanced at her daughter Brianna’s Christmas list, she was expecting to find all the trappings of a 15-year-old’s desires: clothes, jewelry, accessories, and so on. What she didn’t anticipate, however, was a written request to meet the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center’s NICU staff at UConn Health in Farmington that saved her daughter’s life. “I was surprised this made her top 10,” said Rose. “I thought to myself, ‘How many 15-year-olds would ask for something like this?’ Brianna had mentioned a few months earlier that she’d love to at least speak with her NICU doct ..read more