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A study shows that early skin-to-skin contact between mothers and premature babies has many benefits
Babies who are born two to three months early are usually separated from their mother in the first few hours after birth. The importance of skin-to-skin contact between the newborn and the mother is nothing new. And new research shows that early skin-to-skin contact has many psychological and physical benefits.” Anne Marit Føreland, Pediatric Nurse and Associate Professor, Department of Health and Care Sciences, University of Agder The World Health Organization has issued guidelines on promoting early skin-to-skin contact between mother and child. Still, the organization is hesitant to recommend this for babies who are born very early, firstly because...
A study shows that early skin-to-skin contact between mothers and premature babies has many benefits
Babies who are born two to three months early are usually separated from their mother in the first few hours after birth.
The importance of skin-to-skin contact between the newborn and the mother is nothing new. And new research shows that early skin-to-skin contact has many psychological and physical benefits.”
Anne Marit Føreland, pediatric nurse and associate professor, Department of Health and Care Sciences, University of Agder
The World Health Organization has issued guidelines for promoting early skin-to-skin contact between mother and child. Still, the organization is hesitant to recommend this for babies born very prematurely, both because there is uncertainty about whether the babies' condition is stable enough and because it requires a lot of equipment.
Experiences of mothers
Føreland and her colleagues are involved in a large research project coordinated by St. Olav's Hospital, the aim of which is to study the effects of early skin-to-skin contact between mother and premature baby immediately after birth. The babies' oxygen saturation, body temperature and the like were measured. However, they understood that not all answers could be obtained from the quantitative data.
"We also wanted to conduct a qualitative study on the mothers' experiences with skin-to-skin contact in such a situation. After all, there are two parties involved here, and the large study was enriched by the fact that the mothers were also illuminated." experiences,” says Føreland.
They examined births in the 28th to 32nd week of pregnancy, two to three months earlier. Such a birth is a great burden and very stressful for mother and child.
Many of these births occur by cesarean section, and it is common practice to place the baby in an incubator after stabilization. It can take a long time for mother and child to be reunited, as early birth is often due to illness in the mother.
Their qualitative study included ten births in which one group received traditional care and the other was offered skin-to-skin contact with their baby within an hour of birth.
In the control group studied by Føreland and her colleagues, it took 2 to 30 hours for mother and baby to be reunited.
Skin contact is best
After the births, the mothers were asked about their experiences. These interviews form the basis for the qualitative study.
"Both groups of mothers had a deep need to know that their baby was well. It was also clear that being able to carry the baby skin-to-skin was the best confirmation that the baby was well. All the senses make a big difference. The mothers felt that early skin-to-skin contact promoted bonding and well-being," says Føreland.
There are several practical barriers to skin-to-skin contact between mothers and premature infants. The separation currently practiced in Norwegian hospitals is for practical reasons, and this is where Føreland hopes her research can lead to change.
Photos and information help
"All the mothers who were separated from their babies had a hard time. Seeing photos of the NICU and getting information helped, but the best thing was being able to hold their baby early. The presence of the father with the mother and the newborn was important, both for those who were allowed to stay together and for those who had to be separated," says Føreland.
Early skin-to-skin contact is an important area of research internationally, and Føreland and her colleagues will present their findings at a conference in Spain in November.
In addition to changing hospital practices, the research could also impact how hospitals are built in the future.
"Today, in many hospitals, there is a long distance between the maternity ward and the neonatal intensive care unit. This makes the changes we are studying more difficult to implement. They must be practical. We hope our research can contribute to this." others,” says Føreland.
Source:
Reference:
Foreland, AM, et al. (2022) Postpartum experiences with early skin-to-skin contact and the traditional separation approach after a very preterm birth: A qualitative study in mothers. Global qualitative nursing research. doi.org/10.1177/23333936221097116.
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