When a woman went into labour in the middle of a seven-hour flight, Eunice and Lindsey immediately volunteered their services. The two neonatal intensive care nurses had to rely on their experience — and a little improvisation — to help deliver and resuscitate a baby girl.

This may be the feel-good video of the year! After helping carry our tiniest patients out of harm’s way on October 27, firefighters return to the General Campus NICU to present staff, families and babies with a special gift.

Before Ayla was born, she had already made history. Last year at The Ottawa Hospital, she received a world-first in-utero treatment for Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder that had taken the lives of two of her siblings. Now 17 months old, Ayla is healthy and happy.

Dr. Kumanan Wilson and his team have a novel approach to finding out how often babies are born preterm in low-resource countries. They’re using data collected from routine newborn blood tests and they’ve received nearly US $1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support their research.

Extremely premature babies born between 22 and 25 weeks’ gestational age are at high risk of dying and physical disabilities. A NICU team advocated for a shared decision-making process to help parents make informed decisions about whether they want their extremely premature baby to receive intensive care or palliative care.

Some of The Ottawa Hospital’s smallest patients have a new home. The Special Care Nursery at the Civic Campus recently moved into a new space, just across the hall. Not only does this new space provide a safe, quiet environment for these little patients, but it also offers parents more space and privacy, as they watch over their little ones.