Context

Optimal care of preterm infants includes adequate treatment of pain and agitation. However, guidelines caution against the routine use of opioids in common situations such as mechanical ventilation, given the potential for respiratory adverse effects.1 Despite this caution, opioid exposure for this indication remains common.2 Conflicting data exist regarding the impact of this exposure on the developing brain.3 This prospective cohort study examines the relationship between morphine exposure in infants born very preterm and brain growth at term-equivalent age as well as neurodevelopmental outcomes at …