A new study documents how environmental exposures in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) correlate with neurodevelopmental outcomes in critically ill preterm and term neonates. Investigators quantified multiple modifiable exposures during care and linked them to imaging and neurodevelopmental markers, reporting associations with altered brain maturation. The authors call for targeted mitigation strategies in NICU design and protocols to minimize exposures that may have long‑term neurological consequences. For readers: the study underscores environmental determinants in addition to clinical factors affecting neonatal brain development.