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

Abstract

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.