Early skin-to-skin contact and the risk of intraventricular haemorrhage and sepsis in preterm infants.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the risks of intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) or sepsis in extremely and very preterm infants exposed to early skin-to-skin contact (SSC).

Methods: Data from the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register from 2015 to 2021 were extracted to compare the proportions of infants exposed and not exposed to SSC on day 0 and/or 1 in life that developed IVH or sepsis.

Results: A total of 2514 infants, 1005 extremely preterm and 1509 very preterm, were included.

Skin-to-Skin Contact at Birth for Very Preterm Infants and Mother-Infant Interaction Quality at 4 Months: A Secondary Analysis of the IPISTOSS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Good-quality parent-infant interactions have protective effects on infant socio-emotional and behavioral development. These interactions are especially critical for very preterm infants at risk of vulnerabilities related to immaturity. Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has been found to improve mother-preterm infant interaction behaviors, but few studies exist regarding its benefits when initiated immediately after birth.

Parental Experiences of Neonatal Care: A Nationwide Study on Determinants of Excellence.

Introduction: Infant- and family-centered developmental care can reduce adverse outcomes in both infants and parents. Parents' experiences of the care and staff treatment remain to be evaluated.

Methods: Parents of infants admitted to neonatal units in Sweden from July 2020 to May 2022 responded to a questionnaire with standardized questions about in-hospital care.

Immediate skin-to-skin contact for low birth weight infants is safe in terms of cardiorespiratory stability in limited-resource settings.

Aim: To investigate the safety of skin-to-skin contact initiated immediately after birth on cardiorespiratory parameters in unstable low birth weight infants.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted in tertiary newborn units in Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania in 2017-2020, in infants with birth weight 1.0-1.

Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth ensures stable thermoregulation in very preterm infants in high-resource settings.

Aim: To investigate the impact of immediate skin-to-skin contact with a parent after birth on thermal regulation in very preterm infants.

Methods: This clinical trial was conducted in three neonatal intensive care units in Scandinavia from 2018 to 2021. Infants born between 28 + 0 and 32 + 6 weeks and days of gestation were randomised to immediate skin-to-skin contact or conventional care in an incubator during the first 6 postnatal hours.

Case report: Fatal outcome of pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy presenting as respiratory distress followed by a circulatory collapse.

Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy is a rare autosomal recessive disease usually associated with neonatal seizures that do not respond to common antiseizure medications but are controlled by pyridoxine administration. Because the symptoms can mimic common neonatal disorders, the diagnosis can be initially missed or delayed. We report a fatal case of a boy who was initially diagnosed with respiratory distress, birth asphyxia, and persistent pulmonary hypertension and whose condition rapidly deteriorated during the first day of life.

Initiation and duration of skin-to-skin contact for extremely and very preterm infants: A register study.

Aim: This study sought to describe how skin-to-skin contact between extremely and very preterm infants and their parents is practised in Swedish neonatal units.

Methods: Data from the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register from 2020 to 2021 were extracted to analyse initiation time and daily duration of skin-to-skin contact in different gestational ages and regions.

Results: Of the 1475 infants in the cohort, mean (range) gestational age was 28 weeks (22-31), and mean (range) birthweight was 1205 g (360-2810).

Immediate skin-to-skin contact may have beneficial effects on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation in very preterm infants.

Aim: Our aim was to investigate what effect immediate skin-to-skin contact with a parent had on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation of very preterm infants.

Methods: This randomised clinical trial was conducted during 2018-2021 at two university hospitals with three neonatal intensive care units in Norway and Sweden. Infants born from 28+0 to 32+6 weeks of gestation were randomised to immediate skin-to-skin contact with a parent for the first six postnatal hours or standard incubator care.

Case Report: Fatal Outcome for a Preterm Newborn With Meningitis Caused by Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Sequence Type 1193.

Introduction: In this case report, we describe an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) - strain of sequence type (ST) 1193, a novel, virulent, multidrug-resistant (MDR) clone with a rapid global spread. ST 1193 has been more commonly associated with invasive disease than other ESBL- STs. To our knowledge, this is the first known case in Sweden where a newborn died of an ESBL- ST 1193 meningitis.

Parents' Experiences of Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact After the Birth of Their Very Preterm Neonates.

Objective: To explore parents' experiences of immediate skin-to-skin contact after the birth of their very preterm neonates and their perceptions regarding care and support from staff.

Design: A descriptive qualitative study.

Setting: Birth and neonatal units within a university hospital in Sweden.

Immediate "Kangaroo Mother Care" and Survival of Infants with Low Birth Weight.

Background: "Kangaroo mother care," a type of newborn care involving skin-to-skin contact with the mother or other caregiver, reduces mortality in infants with low birth weight (<2.0 kg) when initiated after stabilization, but the majority of deaths occur before stabilization. The safety and efficacy of kangaroo mother care initiated soon after birth among infants with low birth weight are uncertain.

Immediate parent-infant skin-to-skin study (IPISTOSS): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial on very preterm infants cared for in skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth and potential physiological, epigenetic, psychological and neurodevelopmental consequences.

Introduction: In Scandinavia, 6% of infants are born preterm, before 37 gestational weeks. Instead of continuing in the in-utero environment, maturation needs to occur in a neonatal unit with support of vital functions, separated from the mother's warmth, nutrition and other benefits. Preterm infants face health and neurodevelopment challenges that may also affect the family and society at large.

Immediate skin-to-skin contact is feasible for very preterm infants but thermal control remains a challenge.

Aim: Current care of very preterm infants in an incubator implies separation of the mother-infant dyad. The aim of this study was to determine whether skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between parent and very preterm infant from birth and during the first postnatal hour is feasible.

Methods: Infants born in 2014-16 in Stockholm at gestational age 28 + 0-33 + 6 weeks were randomised to care provided in SSC with a parent or on a resuscitaire and later in an incubator or bed during the first postnatal hour.

Epigenetic programming-The important first 1000 days.

The perinatal period is a time of fast physiological change, including epigenetic programming. Adverse events may lead to epigenetic changes, with implications for health and disease. Our review covers the basics of clinical epigenetics and explores the latest research, including the role of epigenetic processes in complex disease phenotypes, such as neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and immunological disorders.