(1) Background: The assessment of neonatal health and prognosis is one of the most critical areas in pediatric medicine. Intrauterine inflammation and the fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) are increasingly recognized as major determinants of neonatal morbidity. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), measured in the umbilical cord (UC) blood, has emerged as a promising biomarker, reflecting both intrauterine conditions and early neonatal risk. This narrative review aims to synthesize current evidence on the predictive value of umbilical cord blood IL-6 for neonatal outcome, including sepsis, respiratory distress, hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and mortality. (2) Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Studies reporting umbilical cord IL-6 levels in relation to neonatal outcomes were analyzed and summarized narratively. (3) Results: Evidence consistently indicates that elevated umbilical cord IL-6 is associated with early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) and respiratory complications, and provides prognostic insight into neurological outcomes, even though results are influenced by gestational age (GA), mode of delivery, and the presence of chorioamnionitis. (4) Conclusions: UC IL-6 represents a valuable early biomarker for neonatal risk stratification and supports clinical decision-making. Future research should prioritize assay standardization, reference interval development, and prospective multicenter studies to validate its integration into routine neonatal care.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is now part of everyday work in neonatal intensive care, supporting diagnosis, procedures, and decisions in acutely unwell infants. Its spread has outpaced the development of training, credentialing, and quality assurance structures, and the neonatal literature rarely describes how and why the technique fails. In this perspective, we focus on non-cardiac neonatal POCUS (lung, cranial, and abdominal). We adapt existing frameworks into four error domains: indication, image acquisition, image interpretation, and clinical integration. We also separate errors that can occur in any ultrasound examination from those tied to the point-of-care setting, including confirmation, anchoring, and availability bias, time pressure, and fatigue. Using illustrative cases and comparative tables, we describe common look-alike findings, summarize thermal and mechanical bioeffects by organ, and discuss probe and gel hygiene in the neonatal unit. We then outline a stepwise pathway for training, supervision, credentialing, and quality assurance, and suggest practical safeguards: structured protocols and reports, simple debiasing habits, image archiving with periodic expert review, and close collaboration with radiology and cardiology. Seen in this way, investment in safety is part of the value of neonatal POCUS rather than an added cost.