Necrotising enterocolitis: protecting newborn babies from this life-threatening bowel problem

Published on Wednesday, 26 October 2016 Tweet

Evidence suggests hundreds of babies develop a serious bowel problem called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) each year in the UK. Babies with NEC need urgent treatment, often involving emergency surgery. Sadly, many babies with NEC lose their lives and some of those who survive suffer long-term complications, such as persistent bowel problems, poor growth and learning difficulties. Researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Southampton, led by Associate Professor Ed Juszczak, are investigating how different milk feeds and food supplements affect babies’ chances of developing NEC, in the hope of better understanding why so many babies still develop this devastating condition.

Read more about this research, which is funded by Action Medical Research.