Forsyth Medical Center 
Adult Years
Research in the NICU
| Performing research to learn how to provide the very best care possible to premature babies with other problems is an important part of the mission of the NICU. |
Research is done by enrolling babies in studies called clinical trials. All of the studies that are done in the NICU are approved by special boards of the hospital and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine called Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). The IRB review ensures that studies are safe and that parental consent for studies is informed and understood. Babies are never enrolled in studies without parents' permission.
Because of the NICU's reputation for excellence in clinical care, the neonatologists who take care of babies in the NICU participate in a number of important research studies funded by the National Institute of Health. The NICU is one of a small number of such units across the United States that have the facilities and skilled staff capable of performing critical research on newborn babies.
Parents may be approached by their babies' doctors or by special research nurses to discuss their babies' possible participation in research studies. Please be assured that such participation is voluntary. Of course, deciding not to allow participation would have no effect on the care that a baby would receive. On the other hand, allowing participation may improve the care that we and other doctors and nurses throughout the country can give to babies, helping them to grow up and thrive.
