#359 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - Can a Strength-Based Approach Transform NICU Follow-Up?

In this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau welcomes Dr. Shirley Russ, Senior Project Scientist for the Life Course Translational Research Network, to discuss how life course health development can reframe neonatal care and follow-up after prematurity. Drawing from her extensive work leading the Prematurity Node within the network, Dr. Russ highlights why translating research into practice at scale is essential for improving lifelong outcomes.

The conversation emphasizes moving beyond a problem-focused, deficit-based model of NICU follow-up toward a strength-based approach that recognizes resilience, family capacity, and the broader developmental ecosystem surrounding each child. Dr. Russ outlines how interventions should not only detect problems but proactively optimize development—by supporting parents’ mental health, fostering nurturing environments, and integrating community resources into care.

She also shares insights into co-designing research and interventions with families, ensuring that their lived experiences guide both priorities and solutions. Practical examples include addressing parental trauma, redesigning follow-up clinics, and viewing prematurity in the context of interconnected systems—from family and community supports to schools and policies.

This forward-looking episode challenges clinicians to rethink follow-up care as more than monitoring milestones. Instead, it presents an opportunity to partner with families and communities to build healthier, more resilient futures for children born preterm.