Meet PELICAN: A Global Network Interested In Lung Health After Preterm Birth

If you or your child were born prematurely, you might have heard about long-term health outcomes. One area that researchers around the world are focusing on is lung health. That's where PELICAN comes in.

PELICAN stands for Prematurity's Effects on the Lungs in Children and Adults Network. It was launched by the European Respiratory Society in 2020. PELICAN is a research collaboration bringing together clinicians, researchers and families from 33 countries around the world to pool data and answer some big questions about lung health for people born preterm. One of the Co-chairs Shannon Simpson is based at The Kids in Perth, Western Australia and our own Chairperson here at Tiny Sparks, Amber Bates is the lead Consumer on the Scientific Steering Committee.

The good news is that recent medical advances mean more babies born early are surviving than ever before. It’s time we move on from focusing in on survival and help these people thrive throughout life.  Some people born preterm will face life long lung health challenges. Researchers now use the term Prematurity Associated Lung Disease (PLD) to describe the lung health challenges that people experience following preterm birth. PELICAN's mission is to understand these challenges better and improve lifelong lung health for all people born prematurely.

PELICAN is building a global research network and data repository to help researchers understand how preterm birth affects lung health across a lifetime. They're collecting information from children and adults born prematurely, looking at lung function, respiratory health, and how different treatments and life experiences, especially those in the NICU and early life, affect lung outcomes. What makes PELICAN special is that it's creating a shared language and standardised measures for research. This means scientists from different countries can compare findings and work together more effectively to answer important questions about lung health after preterm birth.

If your child was born prematurely, PELICAN's research could offer valuable insights into what to expect, how to support their lung health, and what treatments or interventions work best. By connecting families with researchers and clinicians globally, PELICAN helps create better outcomes for children born too soon.

PELICAN has recently launched an Instagram page @pelican.network to help them directly connect with community members about important information. To share resources, stories and learnings and help you unpack the science in an easy to understand way.

Calling young adults born preterm

Can you help to design a new type of exercise program for adults born pre-term?

Adults born pre-term have identified a need for supported exercise programs. Researchers from Monash University (project approval ID 49973) are now looking for young adults (18-40 years), who were born pre-term, to tell them what they think the ideal exercise rehabilitation program would look like.

What's involved? - An online focus group discussion via Zoom with 3-6 other people (approx. 1 hour). Participants will be reimbursed for their time ($40/hour in the form of a gift card). Please see the advert for further details.

If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of or you’d like more information, please contact Rebecca Cousins at rebecca.cousins@monash.edu, or, follow this link to share your contact details and we will get in touch with you: https://forms.gle/NL92CvQ2rjYUgksy8

EPIC: Guideline working group EOI

The Extremely Preterm Infant Centre of Research Excellence (EPIC-CRE) led by Professor Jeanie Cheong at the MCRI is developing a national Guideline for Growth, Health, and Developmental Follow-up for Children Born Very Preterm from School Age to Adulthood. 

The guideline aims to improve the quality of life and optimise health trajectories across the life course for children born very preterm, from school age to adulthood, supporting their increased risk of chronic and complex physical and mental health conditions and promoting consistent, coordinated care.

We are seeking individuals with lived experienced to join Guideline Development Group (GDG) to ensure the guideline is practical and relevant. The GDG will include diverse group from across Australia including clinical experts, researchers, people with lived experience, and representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, CALD populations, and rural and remote regions. 

GDG meetings will be held virtually every 3 months (around 8 sessions) from early 2026 to late 2027. Each meeting will run approx. 2 hours, with 1-2 hours of document review between meetings. 

This work builds on the NHMRC-endorsed 2024 Guideline for Growth, Health and Developmental Follow-up for Children Born Very Preterm, developed by the Centre of Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine, providing recommendations from birth to preschool age. Available at CRE in Newborn Medicine.

We invite individuals born very preterm (18+ years) and caregivers of individuals born very preterm (school age or older) to join the GDG. You can express your interest by completing this short survey: https://redcap.link/zaz118h0 

Next Spark Award Winner

What a marvellous afternoon at Mounts Bay Sailing Club for the Next Spark Pitch event, our key event for World Prematurity Day 2025. We heard from three early career researchers who were shortlisted finalists. They pitched their project ideas to win over the audience.

Dr Gayatri Jape pitched her project Bridging the Gap: A pilot school readiness clinic for preterm born children, followed by Dr Lindsay Kindinger who pitched Vaginal Progesterone for preterm birth prevention: prescription versus reality, and the final pitch of the day was from Dr Rebecca Watkinson with her project Identifying preterm babies at risk of re-hospitalisation with respiratory infections.

Following the fast paced pitches the audience had just 10 minutes to decide which pitch should win and cast their vote. We would have loved to fund all three of these big ideas, but there could be only one winner.

Huge congratulations to Rebecca 👏🏻 We can't wait to see how this work unfolds in 2026!

Preterm Birth Prevention in The Lancet

Lancet paper shows world-first Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Program is working!!!

New data has shown that a world-first initiative to reduce preterm and early term births in Australia has led to a significant decrease in rates of potentially harmful early birth, and improved pregnancy outcomes for women across the country.

Recently published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health, the study presents detailed outcomes from a six-year preterm birth prevention program first introduced in mid-2018.

Findings have shown that:

From 2018-2021, through activities of the Alliance, rates of preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks) were reduced by approximately 8%. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death and disability in children under the age of 5 worldwide.

From 2021-2024, through the expansion of the Every Week Counts National Preterm Birth Prevention Program, an approximate 10% reduction in the early term ages was achieved (37-39 weeks – a period strongly associated with increased risks of learning and behavioural problems).

“We have shown that using current knowledge we have lowered the rate of harmful early birth by 7-10% which represents approximately 4000 fewer cases of early birth each year across Australia since the program was launched,” Alliance Chair, Professor John Newnham explains.