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.

Mother-newborn couplet care: Nordic country experiences of organization, models and practice.

Mother-Newborn Couplet Care is a concept and is defined as the provision of care for a sick or preterm newborn in close proximity to and coupled with the care for the mother from the birth of the infant and for as long as the mother needs hospital care. This concept of care requires system change in both obstetrics and pediatrics in terms of the planning and organization of care, equipment and design of units. Accordingly, strong leadership setting clear goals and emphasizing a culture of cohesive care, supported by targeted education and training is crucial to ensure high-quality care of all mother-newborn dyads without separation.

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.

Skin-to-skin contact after birth: Developing a research and practice guideline.

Aim: Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth is recognised as an evidence-based best practice and an acknowledged contributor to improved short- and long-term health outcomes including decreased infant mortality. However, the implementation and definition of skin-to-skin contact is inconsistent in both practice and research studies. This project utilised the World Health Organization guideline process to clarify best practice and improve the consistency of application.

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.

Parent-infant closeness after preterm birth and depressive symptoms: A longitudinal study.

Background: Preterm birth increases the risk for postpartum depression in both mothers and fathers, calling for strategies to alleviate and prevent depressive symptoms in parents of preterm infants. The aim of this study was to assess the association between early parent-infant closeness and later depressive symptoms among parents of preterm infants. We hypothesized that longer duration of closeness associate with fewer depressive symptoms in both parents.

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.

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.

Mother-Newborn Couplet Care from theory to practice to ensure zero separation for all newborns.

With an increasing awareness of the importance of nurturing care and within a framework of Infant- and Family-Centred Developmental Care (IFCDC), zero separation, keeping parent and infant in continuous close physical and psychological proximity to each other, is key. In modern neonatology, high technological and pharmaceutical treatments are consistently integrated with caregiving considerations. Mother-Newborn Couplet Care is a concept of care where the dyad of the ill or prematurely born infant and the mother, needing medical care of her own, are cared for together, from the birth of the baby to its discharge.

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.

Factors Influencing Implementation of Family-Centered Care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Approximately 10% of all births worldwide are preterm. Often these infants are admitted at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU environment with periods of unnatural light, noise and repeated disturbances is very stressful for infants admitted to the NICU.

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.