Stephanie L. Merhar, MD, MS
- Attending Neonatologist, Perinatal Institute, Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology
- Research Director, NICU Follow Up Clinic
- Principal Investigator, Cincinnati site, NICHD Neonatal Research Network
- Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- stephanie.merhar@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
Biography
Since I was 12 years old, I knew that I wanted to be a pediatrician. What could be better than being a doctor who gets to work with kids? During my pediatric residency at Cincinnati Children’s, I was drawn to neonatology because it offered me the opportunity to care for acutely ill babies and build long-term relationships with families through the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) follow-up clinic.
As a neonatologist who cares for sick and preterm babies, I have a special interest in babies with brain injury and those exposed to substances such as opioids.
In my practice, I listen carefully to families. I know that I don't have all of the answers and that parents know their child best. In the NICU and our follow-up clinic, we collaborate with families and other care providers, such as neurologists, pulmonologists, therapists, nutritionists and nurses.
The research I do focuses on how the newborn brain can bounce back from insults including brain injury and substance exposure. I am also interested in using MRI as a tool to predict and improve the outcomes of term and preterm babies with brain injury. I am honored every time someone is interested in the research my team is doing.
MD: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2005.
Residency: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 2005-2008.
Fellowship: Neonatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 2008-2011.
Certification: Pediatrics, 2008.
Interests
Infants with perinatal brain injury; neonatal follow up.
Services and Specialties
Newborn Intensive Care NICU, Perinatal, Fetal Care, Neonatology
Interests
Follow-up outcomes; advanced neuroimaging to predict outcomes in infants with brain injury and prenatal substance exposure
Research Areas
Neonatology
Additional Languages
French
Insurance Information
Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.
Publications
Correlation of NICU anthropometry in extremely preterm infants with brain development and language scores at early school age. Scientific Reports. 2023; 13:15273.
Eat, Sleep, Console Approach or Usual Care for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal. 2023; 43:186-187.
Opportunities for Examining Child Health Impacts of Early-Life Nutrition in the ECHO Program: Maternal and Child Dietary Intake Data from Pregnancy to Adolescence. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2023; 7:102019.
Use of term reference infants in assessing the developmental outcome of extremely preterm infants: lessons learned in a multicenter study. Journal of Perinatology. 2023; 43:1398-1405.
Serum ferritin values in neonates <29 weeks' gestation are highly variable and do not correlate with reticulocyte hemoglobin content. Journal of Perinatology. 2023; 43:1368-1373.
Neighborhood Opportunity and Vulnerability and Incident Asthma Among Children. JAMA Pediatrics. 2023; 177:1055-1064.
DTI of Opioid-Exposed Fetuses Using ComBat Harmonization: A Bi-Institutional Study. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2023; 44:1084-1089.
Sociodemographic Differences in COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences Among Families in the United States. JAMA Network Open. 2023; 6:e2330495.
Early-Life Outcomes in Relation to Social Determinants of Health for Children Born Extremely Preterm. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2023; 259:113443.
Association of High-Dose Erythropoietin With Circulating Biomarkers and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Among Neonates With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Secondary Analysis of the HEAL Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2023; 6:e2322131.
From the Blog
‘Eat, Sleep, Console’ Approach Slashes ICU Stays for Opioid-Exposed Newborns
Stephanie L. Merhar, MD, MS5/1/2023
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