Skin-to-skin contact is associated with earlier breastfeeding attainment in preterm infants
Paola Oras1, Ylva Thernström Blomqvist1, Kerstin Hedberg Nyqvist1
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Aim:
This study investigated the effects of skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding attainment, duration and infant growth in preterm infants, as this has not been sufficiently explored.
Methods:
A prospective longitudinal study on Kangaroo mother care was carried out, comprising 104 infants with a gestational age of 28 + 0 to 33 + 6 and followed up to one year of corrected age. Parents and staff recorded the duration of skin-to skin contact during the stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Medical data were collected through patient records, and follow-up questionnaires were filled in by parents.
Results:
The 53 infants who attained full breastfeeding in the NICU did so at a median (range) of 35 + 0 (32 + 1 to 37 + 5) weeks of postmenstrual age, and skin-to-skin contact was the only factor that influenced earlier attainment in the regression analysis (R(2) 0.215 p < 0.001). The daily duration of skin-to-skin contact during the stay in the NICU did not affect the duration of breastfeeding or infant growth after discharge. Furthermore, infant growth was not affected by the feeding strategy of exclusive, partial breastfeeding or no breastfeeding.
Conclusion:
A longer daily duration of skin-to-skin contact in the NICU was associated with earlier attainment of exclusive breastfeeding.
Related Concept Videos
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
Development of Human Microbiota
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Attachment


