C2 Project - The effect of perinatal stress on the later outcome in preterm babies

From 01-10-2015 to 30-09-2019

Description

About 8% of all births in Belgium are preterm, which makes it an important public health issue. Advances in neonatal care, such as the use of antenatal corticosteroids, surfactant administration and assisted ventilation have improved survival rates. However, very preterm infants remain at risk for adverse health outcome and neurodevelopmental disability.Cerebral palsy , serious motor delays , cognitive impairments, learning deficits and behavioral problems (ADHD, autism) have been observed in very preterm infants. Furthermore, emotional problems have been reported with symptoms such as shyness, unassertiveness, social maladaptation and anxiety . As these maladaptive outcomes have a severe effect on these children’s quality of life and have a huge economic impact on society ,the current proposal aims at improving our understanding about a factor that has been proposed as crucial: exposure to perinatal distress.

Team

• Sabine Van Huffel, Co-promoter
• Els Ortibus, Co-promoter (External)
• Guy Bosmans, Co-promoter (External)
• Lieven Lagae, Co-promoter (External)
• Stephan Claes, Co-promoter (External)
• Johan Verhaeghe, Co-promoter (External)
• Gunnar Naulaers, Promoter (External)

Financing

Funding: KU Leuven - Internal Funding KU Leuven

Program/Grant Type: C2 - KU Leuven Category 2 Funding