NEC is a serious gut disease.
To help prevent it, please  
answer 5 questions 
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NEC stands for Necrotising Enterocolitis
It is a serious inflammatory gut disease
It affects 1 in 20 very preterm babies.
About 1 in 3 babies with NEC die or need surgery
Many survivors have long-term health problems
like poor growth and developmental delay
WHEAT is a randomised registry trial, a new type of neonatal study that uses routine data already recorded by doctors and nurses in the daily care of thousands of babies around the world.

WHEAT aims to

·       see if withholding milk feeds around blood transfusion can reduce NEC.

·       show that it can run alongside other trials with almost no extra work.     
The International WHEAT Trial aims to enrol over 10,000 preterm babies of less than 30 weeks gestation from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand

·       Over 90% of babies born before 30 weeks gestation get at least one blood transfusion and half of them receive four or more transfusions.  

·       In a recent systematic review of non-randomised 'before-after' studies, by Dr Bonny Jasani and others, stopping feeds during blood transfusions was associated with half the risk of later NEC.

·     On the other hand, continuing breast milk during transfusions may improve growth and reduce later NEC and infections by preserving nutrition and gut integrity.

·       We do not know if stopping or continuing feeds is better.  Before doing a randomised trial to resolve this uncertainty, we are surveying parents, professionals, policymakers and members of the public worldwide.

The 5 questions that follow usually take about 5 minutes. You don't have to provide your name or contact details.

Question Title