Dear Colleagues,
Two companion papers in the August 2025 issue of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health set an important agenda for newborn care:
1. Lancet Commission on the Future of Neonatology (De Luca et al.)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(25)00106-3/abstract
2. Invited Comment — “The future of neonatology: bridging gaps, shaping
realities” (Arti Maria)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(25)00167-1/abstract
What the Commission contributes
a) Diagnoses why innovation for newborns lags—fragmented leadership, thin funding streams, regulatory hurdles, and limited commercial incentives.
b) Calls for a mission-oriented Global Alliance for Innovation in Newborn Health (GAINH) to unite governments, academia, industry anfamilies.
c) Prioritises five high-impact “missions” (e.g., breakthrough respiratory support, neuroprotection, infection control, precision nutrition, and neonatal-specific devices) and urges sustained, pooled funding to achieve them.
What the Comment adds:
a) Welcomes the roadmap but argues “discovery without delivery will not save babies.”
b) Shows how India’s nationwide Family-Centred Care (FCC) programme has already turned evidence into practice at scale and that the emerging Nurturing Care (NC) model for small and sick newborns provide a scalable model for implementation esp in LMICs.
c) Proposes three accelerators CHIFA members can adapt:
i. Make nurturing-care practices
(kangaroo care, , a full ENNC bundle that spans skin-to-skin kangaroo care; early, cue-based feeding with mother’s milk/ breastfeeding, responsive care; pain/stress management; sleep protection; developmentally supportive positioning, gentle human touch, multi modal sensory stimulation within a controlled light-and-sound milieu; besides the clinical medical care warm-chain temperature regulation with strict hygiene and infection-prevention; continuous parental presence with support for their mental health and discharge coaching; and a structured post-discharge follow-up pathway.) mandatory quality metrics, not optional extras.
ii. Fund multi-country
implementation research to unblock real-world bottlenecks in low-resource settings.
iii. Institutionalise respectful, parent-partnered cultures so that technological advances reach every bedside equitably.
“Evidence can leap from bedside to Bharat—and beyond—when we pair discovery with implementation.” — Arti Maria
Why this matters to CHIFA
a) Strategic direction for LMICs – clear research and policy priorities plus cost-effective delivery models.
b) Field-tested templates – FCC (now >700 Indian SNCUs/NICUs) and ‘Nurturing Care beyond the womb’ model for Small and Sick newborns provide ready blueprints for scale-up.
c) Policy window – feedback from frontline clinicians can still shape forthcoming WHO standards and national guidelines.
The Commission offers a global research and policy roadmap, while the Comment translates those priorities into field-tested models—Family-Centred Care (now a national programme in India) and the emerging Essential Newborn & Nurturing Care (ENNC) framework. Both pieces focus on practical solutions for low- and middle-income settings, aligning squarely with CHIFA’s goal of promoting access to actionable health information.
Join the discussion
Please share your reflections, implementation experiences, or questions on the CHIFA forum. How can we collectively ensure that tomorrow’s innovations are translated into today’s outcomes for small and sick newborns?
Warm regards,
Arti Maria, MD, DM (Neonatology)
CHIFA proflie:
Arti Maria is Professor & Head, Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India. Professional interests: Looking after the inborn and referral neonatal units of north India, at Post Graduate teaching Institute of Medical Education & Research of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, catering to provide quality care to the sick newborns referred from various parts of North India. Practicing, teaching and engaging in research in neonatology for the last about 22 years in various prestigious teaching hospitals of India. Over the last 10 years, we have innovated and institutionalised family centred care (FCC) for sick newborns, that is now a national health program to be scaled up through the public health system of India. I have led and initiated various research aspects of FCC including developing an implementation framework, doing QI initiatives to improve various neonatal outcomes and engage in Qualitative aspects as well as the followup outcomes of family centred care (FCC). Has some pioneering work on preterm brain injury (PVL) as part of her DM dissertation. Has been a central coordinating team member with IndiaCLEN, and participated in various public health projects. Email address: artimariaATgmail.com