The New, Improved World of Infant Care

A host of high-tech advances are giving newborns a better shot at avoiding a range of ailments. The long-term impact could be profound.

A wave of innovation in newborn care is giving infants a better start in life—and could improve Americans’ health far into the future.

These advances cover a range of conditions and treatments. Maternal- and fetal-medicine specialists are finding new ways to prevent premature birth, which affects one in 10 infants and can cause serious and costly mental and physical disabilities. In the neonatal intensive-care unit, doctors are adopting new procedures, devices and techniques to diagnose and treat complications that can harm...