Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
Non-invasive Optical Measurement of Cerebral Metabolism and Hemodynamics in Infants
Published on: March 14, 2013
The effect of maternal position on cerebral oxygenation in premature infants during Kangaroo care: a randomised
Iyshwarya Stapleton1,2,3, Sarah Murphy4, Susan Vaughan4
1Department of Neonatology, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Cork, Ireland. 110705275@umail.ucc.ie.
Objective:
To assess whether there was an optimal maternal position (30° versus 60° incline) for kangaroo mother care.
Design:
Single centre cross-over randomised controlled trial. Mothers were randomly assigned to start at either a 30° or 60° angle. Primary outcomes were the mean cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) values. Secondary outcomes included median peripheral saturations and heart rates.
Results:
Twenty infants were included in the final analysis: median gestational age at birth was 28+1 weeks and median birth weight was 985 g. No significant differences were observed in the primary outcomes or the secondary outcomes at either angle.
Conclusions:
Maternal positioning at a 30° or 60° incline did not impact on cerebral oxygenation values in very preterm infants. Either position was associated with clinical stability.
Trial Registration Number:
ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05686252.
