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Prematurity Course

Name: Prematurity Course
Price: 54000 NGN

This comprehensive prematurity course equips neonatal clinicians and obstetric providers with the clinical knowledge to manage preterm birth from antenatal prevention through NICU discharge. Covering pathophysiology, stabilisation, respiratory care, neurology, nutrition, and family-centred practice, it delivers evidence-based expertise across every critical stage of preterm care.

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What you will learn:

You will build a thorough understanding of preterm birth pathophysiology, risk stratification, and global epidemiology. You will master antenatal interventions including corticosteroids, magnesium sulfate, progesterone therapy, and cervical cerclage. Delivery room stabilisation, surfactant administration, and thermal management protocols are covered in precise clinical detail. You will develop competency in NICU respiratory support, cardiovascular haemodynamics, neurological monitoring, and nutritional management. The course also addresses infection prevention, retinopathy of prematurity, haematologic complications, palliative care ethics, and quality improvement methodology.

How you study in practice Prematurity Course

How you practise Prematurity Course

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Course content

8 Chapters • 39 LessonsDuration between 4 and 360 hours (you decide)

Chapter 1See details

Foundations of Prematurity and Preterm Birth

Lesson 1 • Screening and Prediction Tools
Reviews cervical length measurement, biomarkers, and risk scoring systems. Connects predictive tools to early intervention strategies covered in later chapters.
Lesson 2 • Etiology and Risk Factor Classification
Identifies maternal, fetal, placental, and environmental causes of preterm birth. Builds a risk-stratification mindset essential for prevention planning.
Lesson 3 • Global Epidemiology of Preterm Birth
Examines worldwide incidence, regional disparities, and trends over time. Contextualises clinical practice within a public health framework.
Lesson 4 • Defining Prematurity and Gestational Age
Covers WHO definitions, gestational age measurement, and viability thresholds. Anchors all subsequent clinical decision-making in precise terminology.
Lesson 5 • Pathophysiology of Preterm Labor
Explains inflammatory, hormonal, and mechanical pathways triggering early labor. Provides the biological basis for understanding clinical interventions.

Chapter 2See details

Antenatal Management and Prevention Strategies

Lesson 1 • Magnesium Sulfate for Neuroprotection
Covers protocols for magnesium sulfate use to reduce cerebral palsy risk in preterm neonates. Links antenatal care directly to long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Lesson 2 • Progesterone Therapy in High-Risk Pregnancies
Covers indications, formulations, and dosing of progesterone supplementation. Directly applies risk-factor knowledge from Chapter 1 to clinical prevention.
Lesson 3 • Cervical Cerclage Techniques and Indications
Teaches history-indicated, ultrasound-indicated, and emergency cerclage procedures. Reinforces cervical length screening knowledge from Chapter 1.
Lesson 4 • Antenatal Corticosteroids for Fetal Lung Maturation
Explains timing, dosing, and outcomes of corticosteroid administration before preterm delivery. Establishes the foundation for neonatal respiratory management in later chapters.
Lesson 5 • Tocolytic Therapy for Preterm Labor
Reviews agents used to suppress uterine contractions and their mechanisms. Builds on pathophysiology knowledge to guide appropriate agent selection.

Chapter 3See details

Delivery Room Stabilisation of the Preterm Infant

Lesson 1 • Respiratory Support at Birth
Covers CPAP initiation, positive pressure ventilation, and intubation decision-making at delivery. Prepares students for the respiratory management content in Chapter 4.
Lesson 2 • Thermal Management and Plastic Wrapping
Teaches prevention of hypothermia using polyethylene wraps, warm rooms, and exothermic mattresses. Hypothermia prevention directly reduces mortality in extremely preterm infants.
Lesson 3 • Surfactant Administration in the Delivery Room
Reviews early surfactant therapy indications and administration techniques including INSURE and LISA. Bridges delivery room stabilisation to ongoing NICU respiratory care.
Lesson 4 • Delayed Cord Clamping and Cord Milking
Examines evidence for delayed cord clamping and umbilical cord milking in preterm infants. Connects antenatal corticosteroid benefits to optimised transitional circulation.
Lesson 5 • Preparation and Team Briefing Before Delivery
Covers equipment checks, team role assignment, and pre-delivery communication. Establishes a structured approach that reduces errors during high-acuity deliveries.

Chapter 4See details

Respiratory Management in the NICU

Lesson 1 • Respiratory Distress Syndrome Pathophysiology
Explains surfactant deficiency, alveolar collapse, and hypoxaemia in RDS. Grounds ventilator management decisions in the underlying disease mechanism.
Lesson 2 • Conventional Mechanical Ventilation
Teaches volume-targeted and pressure-limited ventilation modes for preterm lungs. Emphasises lung-protective strategies to minimise ventilator-induced injury.
Lesson 3 • Non-Invasive Respiratory Support Modes
Covers CPAP, HFNC, BiPAP, and NIPPV indications and settings. Builds on delivery room CPAP skills to support ongoing non-invasive management.
Lesson 4 • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Prevention and Management
Covers BPD definition, risk factors, and evidence-based prevention strategies. Integrates surfactant, ventilation, and nutrition knowledge into chronic lung disease care.
Lesson 5 • High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation
Explains HFOV principles, amplitude, frequency, and mean airway pressure management. Addresses rescue ventilation scenarios not resolved by conventional modes.

Chapter 5See details

Cardiovascular and Hemodynamic Care

Lesson 1 • Point-of-Care Echocardiography in the NICU
Introduces functional echocardiography for bedside hemodynamic assessment. Enables clinicians to guide treatment decisions without waiting for formal cardiology consultation.
Lesson 2 • Hypotension Assessment and Treatment
Teaches blood pressure norms, volume expansion, and vasopressor use in preterm neonates. Distinguishes distributive, cardiogenic, and hypovolaemic shock presentations.
Lesson 3 • Transitional Circulation in Preterm Neonates
Explains fetal-to-neonatal circulatory transition and common deviations in preterm infants. Provides the physiological basis for all haemodynamic interventions in this chapter.
Lesson 4 • Patent Ductus Arteriosus Diagnosis and Management
Covers echocardiographic assessment, clinical criteria, and treatment options for PDA. Applies transitional circulation knowledge to a common preterm cardiovascular problem.

Chapter 6See details

Neurological Care and Brain Protection

Lesson 1 • Preterm Brain Development and Vulnerability
Describes cortical development, myelination timelines, and injury-susceptible periods. Establishes the neurodevelopmental context for all protective interventions in this chapter.
Lesson 2 • Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Planning
Establishes structured follow-up schedules, developmental surveillance tools, and early intervention referral criteria. Bridges acute neurological care to long-term developmental outcomes.
Lesson 3 • Cranial Ultrasound Interpretation
Teaches standard cranial ultrasound views, timing of scans, and identification of key findings. Enables bedside clinicians to detect and monitor neurological injury in real time.
Lesson 4 • Seizure Recognition and Management
Covers clinical and electrographic seizure identification, EEG monitoring, and antiepileptic therapy. Addresses a critical complication arising from IVH and hypoxic-ischaemic events.
Lesson 5 • Intraventricular Haemorrhage Prevention and Grading
Covers IVH grading systems, risk factors, and evidence-based prevention bundles. Connects antenatal magnesium sulfate from Chapter 2 to postnatal brain protection.

Chapter 7See details

Nutrition, Growth, and Gastrointestinal Care

Lesson 1 • Parenteral Nutrition in the NICU
Covers initiation, composition, and advancement of parenteral nutrition for preterm neonates. Addresses early nutritional support before enteral feeding is established.
Lesson 2 • Enteral Feeding Advancement Strategies
Teaches minimal enteral nutrition, feeding volume advancement, and readiness assessment. Balances the benefits of early feeding against necrotising enterocolitis risk.
Lesson 3 • Nutritional Requirements of Preterm Infants
Quantifies protein, caloric, lipid, and micronutrient needs by gestational age and weight. Provides the evidence base for all feeding and supplementation decisions in this chapter.
Lesson 4 • Human Milk and Donor Milk Use
Examines the benefits of mother's own milk, donor milk, and fortification strategies. Establishes human milk as the primary enteral nutrition source for preterm infants.
Lesson 5 • Necrotising Enterocolitis Prevention and Management
Covers NEC staging, risk reduction strategies, and surgical decision-making. Integrates feeding, infection, and gut microbiome knowledge into a comprehensive NEC framework.

Chapter 8See details

Discharge Planning and Family-Centred Care

Lesson 1 • Parent Education and Competency Training
Teaches structured parent education on feeding, medication, CPR, and emergency recognition. Ensures caregivers are competent and confident before the infant leaves the NICU.
Lesson 2 • Post-Discharge Follow-Up Coordination
Establishes primary care linkage, subspecialty referrals, and early intervention enrolment before discharge. Prevents gaps in care that increase readmission risk.
Lesson 3 • Psychosocial Support for NICU Families
Addresses parental stress, PTSD risk, and mental health resources for families of preterm infants. Recognises caregiver wellbeing as integral to infant developmental outcomes.
Lesson 4 • Discharge Readiness Criteria and Assessment
Defines physiological milestones for safe discharge including thermal regulation, feeding, and apnea resolution. Provides objective criteria to guide consistent discharge decisions.
Lesson 5 • Family-Centred Care Principles in the NICU
Covers parental involvement, skin-to-skin care, and shared decision-making frameworks. Builds the relational foundation that supports successful home transition.

Certification

Your valid completion certificate

This course is for you:

Neonatologist: seeking a structured, up-to-date clinical reference for daily practice.
Neonatal nurse practitioner: managing complex preterm cases and expanding decision-making confidence.
Obstetric hospitalist: handling high-risk deliveries and needing stronger antenatal prevention skills.
Pediatric resident: rotating through the NICU and building foundational preterm care competency.
Maternal-fetal medicine fellow: deepening expertise in preterm birth prediction and intervention.
NICU bedside nurse: advancing clinical knowledge to improve care quality for premature infants.

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