A heartfelt and sincere thank you to Dr Susan Blackburn as she completes her time at The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing (JPNN) with her final column. Dr Blackburn has significantly contributed to the Journal for several decades, including 10 years as the Neonatal Editor and nearly 13 years as a column editor. We are grateful to have had her longstanding commitment to making JPNN the impactful resource that it is. Thank you very much, Susan!
As this is a Selected Topics volume, the neonatal articles offer new and reviewed knowledge on a spectrum of relevant issues, with several focused broadly on the transition to home.
The CE article, by Boykova, provides a review of the literature on transition to home and the postdischarge period, a major emphasis of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nursing and a challenging milestone for infants and their families as well as community healthcare providers. Challenges remain in making this transition a safer and less stressful experience.
Garfield and colleagues present their findings on a previously unexamined topic-diurnal salivary testosterone levels for mothers and fathers of very low-birth-weight infants, in the NICU and after transition to home. The findings include links between testosterone and infant factors, such as breastfeeding, psychosocial stressors, and changes over time. Additional research is recommended to learn more about this physiology.
Research on the concerns and needs of fathers of preterm newborns remains small compared with the much larger body of research on mothers and infants. Kim et al systematically examined fathers' use of social networking and Web sites for information and support. The authors provide implications for designing father-centered technology support in the NICU.
Chapman and her colleagues offer a systematic review on delayed cord clamping and its effect on reducing postdelivery complications in preterm infants. The authors conclude that delayed cord clamping can improve outcome measures in preterm infants and that the review supports the current clinical recommendation to delay cord clamping during delivery of preterm newborns.
Online we have an additional article. The interprofessional team led by Grgurich offers their experience with the use of video laryngoscopy for just-in-time training of nurses on intubation, compared with direct laryngoscopy. Results of this study showed similar intubation outcomes with the video and direct laryngoscopy methods, offering the potential for video laryngoscopy to support competency development and maintenance on this important intervention. A digital video supplement is also available online.
In addition to Dr Blackburn's column on Internet resources, Dr. Katherine Gregory offers her Expert Column on hypoglycemia.
The 30th anniversary year for The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing (JPNN) comes to its completion with this 30:4 Selected Topics Issue. During this past year, JPNN has been celebrating its 30th Year in Publication with a celebration at one of the national conventions and its publication of the 30th Anniversary Issue of JPNN in issue 30:3. It has been a banner year for JPNN!!
On a less celebratory note, JPNN will be losing its Neonatal Editor of the past 12 years, Dr. Susan Bakewell-Sachs. (Please see the editorial in her honor within this issue). Susan will be stepping down in her role as Neonatal Editor with the 31:1 issue of JPNN. We thank her for all the time and energy she has given to JPNN over her 12-year tenure. She has been a steady voice, guiding the neonatal section of the journal. We will miss Susan's many contributions to advance JPNN.
For this 30:4 Selected Topics Issue of JPNN, the Perinatal section has 4 articles to present, 3 research articles and 1 clinical article. Luke, Kirby, and Wright discuss "Postpartum Weight Retention and Subsequent Pregnancy Outcomes". They note pregnancy outcomes for underweight, normal weight, and obese women.
"Sleep Quality and Health-Related Quality of Life in Pregnancy" is covered by Sut, Asci, and Topac. This study reinforces the work of others noting that sleep quality and health-related quality of life in and not of pregnant women were worse than nonpregnant healthy controls.
Gratton and colleagues present "The Impact of Standardized Acuity Assessment and a Fast Track on Length of Stay in Obstetric Triage: A Quality Improvement Study." Their findings show that standardized assessment of acuity and a fast track for lower-acuity pregnant women decreased the overall length of stay (LOS) and the LOS of lower-acuity pregnant patients.
Troiano, Baird, and Kennedy complete this issue with an updated clinical article on Morbidly Adherent Placenta: Interprofessional Management During the Intrapartum Period. This topic addressed abnormal placentation and its rising risk in the clinical setting-putting forth an interprofessional approach to care.
Your attention is also directed to the 2 Perinatal columns on Legal Issues and Risk Management and the Expert Opinion column on the Zika Virus and its Impact on Pregnancy. Please enjoy Parting Thoughts on the topic of "Change".
-Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, FAAN
Neonatal Editor
-Diane J. Angelini, EdD, CNM, NEA-BC, FACNM, FAAN
Cofounder, Senior and Perinatal Editor