#440 - 🔵 [PAS 2026] - What Does It Take to Build a Neonatology Fellowship From Scratch in Rwanda?

Dr. Brandon Hadfield and Dr. Debora Abimana join Ben for a conversation that brings the incubator's global neonatology work full circle — from the founding of Rwanda's first neonatology fellowship program to seeing its first trainee present scholarly work at PAS. Dr. Abimana shares findings from her research on healthcare provider attitudes toward donor human milk in Rwandan NICUs, where the concept is largely welcomed but faces cultural concerns around infants adopting the characteristics of their donor — a barrier the team hopes to address through targeted community education. She also paints a vivid picture of the need: NICUs without TPN, near-universal breastfeeding rates driven by necessity rather than choice, and critically ill mothers who simply cannot produce enough milk for their premature babies in those first crucial hours.