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“SSC can be safely used in extremely preterm infants. SSC can be initiated during the first week of life and is feasible in infants requiring neonatal intensive care, including ventilator treatment. During SSC, the conduction of heat from parent to infant is sufficiently high to compensate for the increase in evaporative and convective heat loss. The increased water loss through the skin during SSC is small and should not affect the infant’s fluid balance.”
Luong KC, Nguyen TL, Huynh Thi DH, et al. Newly born low birthweight infants stabilise better in skin-to-skin contact than when separated from their mothers: a randomised controlled trial. Acta Paediatr 2016;105:381-390
“Skin-to-skin contact was likely to be an optimal environment for neonates without life-threatening conditions who weighed 1500–2500 g at birth. By preventing instability that requires subsequent medical treatment, it may be life-saving in low-income countries.”
A 20 year followup of premature babies by Charpak N, Tessier R, Ruiz G. Pediatrics 2017;130(1):1-10. Conclusions: This study indicates that KMC had significant, long-lasting social and behavioral protective effects 20 years after the intervention. Coverage with this efficient and scientifically based health care intervention should be extended to the 18 million infants born each year who are candidates for the method.
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Copyright: Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC, Andrea Polokova, 2017, 2018, 2021