Other content tagged: skin-to-skin care
Making skin-to-skin care a reality for families in need with “ConTact”
Guest article by Professor Concepción Gómez Esteban, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain, and President of APREM, one of EFCNI’s esteemed partner parent organisations in Spain. In 2022, APREM initiated an innovative programme in Spain called “ConTact”, aimed at facilitating skin-to-skin care between preterm infants and their families as well as supporting those families when going back home. We focused particularly on the most vulnerable tiny patients, namely preterm babies who, in addition to medical challenges,…
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Experience of a Mother‑Newborn Care Unit (MNCU) in India – A successful example of Zero Separation
In the iKMC study, the effect of immediate kangaroo mother care (KMC) was investigated. Researchers implemented new facilities where sick and small newborns resided with their mothers 24/7 and were encouraged to practice immediate KMC. This new concept showed better health outcomes for the mother and the baby, including a 25% lower death rate during the first 28 days of life. Zero separation…
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Mothers’ experiences of early skin-to-skin contact vs. traditional separation approach after a very preterm birth
Researchers in Norway explored experiences of mothers of very preterm children regarding early skin-to-skin contact vs. a traditional separation approach. Mothers benefited from skin-to-skin contact as it ensured them the vitality of the infant, promoted bonding and gave them an overall positive, emotionally overwhelming experience. In the last decades, contact between mother and child immediately after birth has changed. Nowadays, skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is mostly promoted, which also applies to caesarean sections. According to the…
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Family Rooms in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Neonatal Outcomes.
Research shows important benefits of parental involvement in neonatal intensive care. Parents spending time with their newborns and especially their engagement in skin-to-skin contact has positive impacts on cognitive development of infants and lowers morbidity and mortality rates. To increase the time families spend with their preterm born babies in NICUs, some hospitals provide infant-parent rooms to allow parents to stay with their child 24 hours a day. To assess the availability and benefits of…
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Prevention of Coronavirus transmission from mothers to newborns while breastfeeding and engaging in skin-to-skin contact
So far, there is insufficient knowledge about COVID-19 spreading to newborns from their mothers who tested positive for the virus at the time of the birth. A new study suggests that hygiene precautions can protect neonates from contracting the virus during breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact with the mother. Salvatore and colleagues conducted a study with women who tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of the birth of their child. In total, 82 infants born at three New York hospitals…
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How parents can help reduce and manage procedural pain in the NICU
In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), ill and preterm babies face a number of unpleasant and painful procedures, such as heel sticks to obtain blood samples, attachment and removal of EEG, or an eye examination. There are a number of methods how parents can help to reduce pain and anxiety in their baby, and a recent study from Finland1 examined the different methods, their benefits, and how widely they are practiced. In previous studies, non-pharmacological methods have been shown…
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Kangaroo sweaters for Hungarian hospital
Thanks to numerous donors, and with the support of Laura Bavalics on behalf of her husband PhD. Zack Boukydis' memory fund, we supplied the NICU in Miskolc, Hungary, with so called “Benjamin Kangaroo Sweaters”. These shirts facilitate skin-to-skin care by maintaining the mother’s mobility. They are designed to support safe and comfortable kangarooing even if the baby is connected to medical devices. In addition, they are equipped with small mirrors that enables the mother to watch her child’s face. Livia…
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Lighthouse project: a baby saving innovation – the Embrace infant warmer
One of our lighthouse projects in the field of Medical care is the Embrace warmer. It was designed to improve healthcare in low-resource settings to help vulnerable newborns survive and thrive. When infants are born preterm, they lack the body fat that is necessary to regulate their own temperature. As a consequence, room temperature can feel…
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