Time of initiation of skin-to-skin contact in extremely preterm in Sweden

Mörelius E, Angelhoff C, Eriksson J, Olhager E. Time of initiation of skin-to-skin contact in extremely preterm infants in Sweden. Acta Paediatr. 2012 Jan;101(1):14-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02398.x. Epub 2011 Jul 30. PubMed PMID: 21732975.

AIM:
To describe the time of first skin-to-skin contact in extremely preterm infants in a national perspective and to investigate possible factors affecting the time of first skin-to-skin contact.

METHODS:
A population-based prospective descriptive study of extremely preterm infants (n = 520) in seven regional hospitals in Sweden.

RESULTS:
Extremely preterm infants in Sweden experience first skin-to-skin contact with the parent at a median of six postnatal days (range 0-44). Low gestational age, a high score on the clinical risk index for babies, and the number of days on a ventilator tended to delay first skin-to-skin contact. A statistically significant difference was also found between regional hospitals.

CONCLUSION:
There is a difference in the time of first skin-to-skin contact based on the infant’s medical condition and the tradition in the neonatal intensive care unit at the regional hospital where the infant is born.

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