Study to target early support for NICU babies

A study is aiming to predict which babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are most likely to need additional support before starting school.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation and the University of Cambridge will carry out the Babies' Longitudinal Outcomes, Omics and Milestones Study (Blooms).

The research will investigate why children who have spent time in a NICU are more than twice as likely to fail a school readiness assessment, which measures how prepared a child is to begin formal education.

Cambridge research shows that one in six children currently fails this assessment, compared with about one in three who has spent time in a NICU.

All children under five in the UK undergo the assessment, which looks at behaviour, communication and the ability to follow instructions.

The study aims to recruit 1,000 babies in the East of England, following them from their time in the NICU through to the end of compulsory education at 16.

Prof David Rowitch, principal investigator for Blooms, said: "Even though there are 70,000 children admitted to NICU each year in the UK, we don't know how they do in school because linking to school readiness has not been carried out."

Babies are admitted to the units for many reasons, including prematurity, low birth weight, breathing difficulties or the need for surgery.

The study aims to identify early warning signs that could help pinpoint which children would benefit from extra support.

Rowitch, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Cambridge, said: "If we use techniques such as genomics, we can go beyond the clinical record alone to be even more specific about this assessment, targeting help to those most likely to benefit."

He said children who failed the assessment were more likely to experience difficulties in their adult life, including poorer physical and mental health, higher rates of deprivation and incarceration and a reduced life expectancy.

Blooms would be one of the flagship programmes at the Cambridge Children's Research Institute (CCRI), to be housed inside Cambridge Children's Hospital, the hospital trust said.

The hospital will be built opposite the Rosie Maternity Hospital on the same site as Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals.

The plans have been signed off by the government and construction could begin in 2026.

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