Prolonged laryngeal adduction at birth in preterm rabbit kittens

Non-invasive ventilation is often unable to provide sufficient respiratory support for very premature infants at birth. While airway obstruction is thought to be a major reason for this failure, the site of obstruction is unknown. In the current thesis, we have investigated whether laryngeal closure at birth is a major cause of airway obstruction and factors influencing laryngeal activity in preterm rabbit kittens.