Fetal therapies and improved perinatal stabilisation to prevent pulmonary hypertension in infants with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) have small, abnormal lungs and face difficulties breathing after birth. This thesis examines the detrimental effects that CDH has on blood flow through the lungs during the transition from fetal to neonatal life. It identifies therapies to enhance blood flow by improving the way blood vessels develop before birth or providing greater stability during the transitional period at birth. By allowing more blood to flow through the lungs and hence deliver oxygen to vital organs, these fetal and neonatal therapies may help babies with CDH, and their parents, to breathe a little easier.