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Updated: Jan 7, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
A collaborative "THRIVE Fetus to Five" neonatal brain program review
Lina Chalak1, Margaret K Hoge2, June Hu2
1UT Southwestern, Parkland and Childrens Health, Dallas, TX, USA. Lina.chalak@utsouthwestern.edu.
Insights
Specialized follow-up care for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) graduates improves neurodevelopmental outcomes. Integrating multi-disciplinary primary care with specialty services ensures comprehensive support from infancy through adulthood.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Integrated healthcare models
Background:
- Vulnerable infants post-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) discharge require specialized monitoring for neurodevelopmental impairment and chronic conditions.
- Advances in obstetric care enable earlier identification of high-risk fetuses, necessitating personalized interventions from prenatal stages through postnatal care.
- Current follow-up often involves fragmented visits focused narrowly on neurodevelopment and growth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the benefits of an integrated, multi-disciplinary primary care model for at-risk infants.
- To describe a cohesive follow-up system combining primary care with specialty services for optimal infant outcomes.
- To highlight a 'Fetus to Five' program prioritizing comprehensive and efficient care for infants' developmental trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Embedding personalized medicine into a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary primary care framework.
- Integrating specialty clinic services into a cohesive follow-up system.
- Collaborative, multi-specialist approach across the infant's medical journey.
Main Results:
- Significant benefits for at-risk infants through an integrated approach.
- Maximized potential for optimal care and outcomes via cohesive, multi-disciplinary follow-up.
- Efficient and comprehensive meeting of each child's needs, fostering thriving developmental outcomes and family satisfaction.
Conclusions:
- Comprehensive, integrated care models significantly benefit Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) graduates.
- Lifespan support for NICU graduates, extending into adolescence and adulthood, is crucial for sustained optimal health and developmental outcomes.
- Expanding access to such integrated programs is key for the future of neonatal follow-up care.
Abstract:
After Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) discharge, vulnerable babies at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment and other chronic problems often require specialized follow-up care to monitor their development and address any potential issues. Typically, this involves multiple follow-up visits usually focused on neurodevelopment and growth. With advances in obstetric care, high-risk fetuses are being identified earlier, marking another timepoint in which personalized medicine can be delivered from before birth to after discharge including neuronicu care. Our program embeds this focus into a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary primary care model, which offers significant benefits for at-risk infants, and provides an integrated approach to their care. We present the benefits of integrating this model of care with other specialty clinic services into a cohesive, multi-disciplinary follow-up system that maximizes the potential for optimal care and outcomes. Through close collaboration of our multiple specialists at each point of the medical journey of each infant from "Fetus to Five," we describe our program where the priority is each child's needs to be met efficiently and comprehensively, as a pathway to thriving developmental outcomes and overall family satisfaction. IMPACT: The future of such comprehensive programs lies in expanding access to comprehensive, integrated care offering services that extend into adolescence and adulthood that supports NICU graduates throughout their lifespan, ensuring optimal health and developmental outcomes.
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