Parma, Italy, September 21 to 23, 2026
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
Please note, each presentation will last 12-13 minutes. The remaining time will be dedicated to questions and discussion.
DAY1 – SEPTEMBER 21st 2026
08:30 Opening Ceremony
Welcome Address Introduction to the Scientific Programme – Workshop President. Prof.ssa Serafina Perrone
SESSION 1 – PERINATAL CARE AND DELIVERY ROOM MANAGEMENT
From ethical decision-making before birth to stabilization and early management of high-risk newborn infants.
Chair: Heili Varendi, Helmut Küster
08:40 Escalated Cesarean Sections: Autonomy and/or “Obstetric Violence/Mistreatment”? The Greek Paradigm – Ariadne Malamitsi-Puchner
09:00 Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Polymorphism, Respiratory Muscle Function, and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Capacity in Healthy Children – Gabriel Dimitriou
09:20 Survival and Morbidity of Extremely Preterm Infants at the Edge of Viability: International Trends and a 15-Year Single-Center Experience in Greece (2011-2025) – Antonia Charitou
09:40 Wide Variation in Delivery Room Stabilization of Very Preterm Infants – Nelly Jekova
10:00 The search for the most accurate biomarkers for early onset neonatal sepsis continues – Maria Livbia Ognean
10:20 Prospective Comparison of Capillary and Venous Blood Sampling for Biochemical Measurement Reliability in Neonates: Preliminary Results from an Ongoing Prospective Cohort Study – Lyudmyla Zakharchenko
10:40 Challenges During Clinical Lactation Studies Investigating Medicines Exposure: Experiences from and Relevance of the Umbrellact Case Report Study – A Contribution from the Conception Project – Karel Allegaert
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
SESSION 2 – NUTRITION, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Nutrition remains one of the major determinants of growth, organ development and long-term outcome after preterm birth.
Chair: Jack Aranda, Vineta Felmann
11:30 Human-Milk PUFA/LCPUFA Profiles, Estimated Early Exposure and Neurodevelopment After Preterm Birth – Eleftheria Hatzidaki
11:50 Neonatal Parenteral Nutrition in Clinical Practice: The Bulgarian Experience – Stanislava Hitrova-Nikilova
12:10 A Pilot Study of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to Assess Total Body Calcium and Mineral Content in Preterm Infants – Colin Morgan
12:30 Whole Blood Transcriptomic Analysis Comparing Arginine-Supplemented and Unsupplemented Preterm Neonates in the First 30 Days of Life – Frances Callaghan
12:50 Impact of Delivery Mode on Breast Milk Iodine Concentration and Neonatal Thyroid Function: A Cross-Sectional Study from Turkey – Mehmet Vural
13:10 – 14:30 Lunch
DAY2 – SEPTEMBER 22nd 2026
SESSION 3 – LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AND FAMILY-CENTRED CARE
Understanding how neonatal care influences neurodevelopment, family well-being and outcomes across the life course.
Chair: Mehmet Vural, Giuseppe Buonocore
08:40 Parent-Staff and Parent-Infant Communication: Implications on Child Development – Anette Aija
09:00 The Austrian Preterm Outcome Study Group – Mortality, Short-Term Morbidity and Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 5 Years of Age in Extremely Preterm-Born Children – Ursula Kiechl-Kohlendorfer
09:20 Lung Function in Preterm Infants With Versus Without History of Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR): Retrospective Phase of the ELFIGO Project – Stefano Nobile
09:40 The Bavarian Longitudinal Study (BLS) of VPT/VLBW Infants: Leaving Parental Home and Family Status at 34 Years of Age – Peter Bartmann
10:00 Impact of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Occipitofrontal Head coircunference z-scores in very preterm infants – Christoph Bührer
10:20 Reducing Extreme Heat Impacts on Health in Pregnant Women and Infants: A Community-Based Intervention in Kilifi, Kenya – Britt Nakstad
10:40 On-Call Burden and Sleep in NICU/PICU Physicians and Their Children: A Dyadic Study of Intergenerational Sleep Spillover – Zeynep Alp Unkar
11:00 – 11:50 Coffee Break
SESSION 4 – PRECISION MEDICINE, INFECTION AND NEONATAL SCREENING
From genetics to infection prevention, new technologies are reshaping individualized neonatal care.
Chair: Sven Wellman, Gabriel Dimitriou
11:50 Inguinal Hernias in Preterm Infants – Repair Before Discharge, Elective Repair After Discharge, or Watchful Waiting? – Claudia Roll
12:10 Survey on Ophthalmic Antibiotic Prophylaxis Practices in Neonatology Across Europe – Helmut Küster
12:30 Early and Late Onset Sepsis in Very Preterm Infants in Estonia – Heili Varendi
12:50 Prediction of Shift of the Oxyhaemoglobin Dissociation Curve Using Machine Learning Techniques – Benjamin Stoecklin
13:10 – 14:30 Lunch
DAY3 – SEPTEMBER 23rd 2026
SESSION 5 – NEONATAL PHYSIOLOGY, MONITORING AND CLINICAL PRACTICE
Physiology, monitoring strategies and evidence synthesis to improve neonatal clinical care.
Chair: Jean-Michel Hascoët, Nelly Jekova
08:40 Influence of Mode of Delivery on Neonatal QTc in the KUNO Kids Health Study – Michael Holger
09:00 Duration and Frequency of Kangaroo Care for Extremely Small Preterm Infants – Martin Wald
09:20 Identifying Trends in Neonates with Venous Thrombus Formation. Can These Trends Lead to Identifying Modifiable Risk Factors? – Sally Ogden
09:40 Kangaroo Parent Care to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in Low Birthweight Infants: An Updated Cochrane Review – Matteo Bruschettini
10:00 Exposure to Intense Noise at Work During Pregnancy Increases the Risk of Premature Birth – Jean-Michel Hascoët
10:20 Pain and Analgesia in Newborns (PAIN): Development of a New Neonatal Pain Ladder – Jacob Aranda
10:40 Pain and Sedation Management During Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening and Treatment: Preliminary Findings from an Ongoing Cochrane Review – Olga Romantsik
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
SESSION 6 – RESPIRATORY MEDICINE AND MISCELLANEOUS
From molecular mechanisms to long-term respiratory outcomes in preterm infants.
Chair: Egbert Herting, Peter Bartmann
11:30 Lung Function in Preterm Infants With Versus Without History of Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR): Retrospective Phase of the ELFIGO Project – Stefano Nobile
11:50 Are Monogenic Recessive Disorders Always Monogenic? – Vineta Fellman
12:10 European Training Levels in Neonatology: A Large Cross-Sectional Online Survey – Sven Wellmann
12:30 Mitochondrial-to-Nuclear DNA Ratio for Early Prediction of Neurode-velopmental Outcome in Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy – Virginia Beretta
12:50 Early Oxidative Stress Signature and Redox-Regulating microRNAs in the Development of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Extremely and Very Preterm Infants – Serafina Perrone
13:10 – 14:30 Lunch