Essential
- No difference was found on neurological development at the age of 2 to 3 years between the great prematurers who have benefited from skin to skin just after their birth and those who have received standard care.
- On the other hand, a greater number of babies placed on their mother’s chest were breastfed out of the hospital.
- According to the researchers, this feasible and inexpensive intervention should be adopted given its security and its sustainable benefits for breastfeeding.
Given that children born between the 28th and 32nd week of pregnancy present an increased risk of long -term deficiencies, in particular cerebral paralysis, cognitive delays and language, psychiatric disorders and visual or auditory deficits, it is necessary to identify the protective factors likely to limit the harmful effects of the great prematurity on the immature brain. This is why scientists from the Trondheim University Hospital (Norway) conducted a study to assess whether the skin -to -skin contact with immediate skin, which is highly recommended by Health authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO), improves the neurological development of early childhood in very premature infants.
No neurodevelopmental benefit linked to direct maternal maternalness among the great premature
As part of the work, published in the review JAMA Network Openthe authors followed, between 2014 and 2020, 108 babies born between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy in three Norwegian hospitals. They weighed more than 1,000 g and required less than 40 % of oxygen intake at birth. The newborns were divided into two groups, either to benefit from two hours of contact with immediate skin skin in the delivery room, or standard care involving a direct transfer to an incubator in neonatal intensive care unit. “The main evaluation criterion was cognitive development between 2 and 3 years”, said the team.
Data has shown no significant difference between groups in terms of cognitive development. At the age of 2 to 3 years, cognitive scores were 99.6 in children who benefited from skin with skin to skin just after their birth and 99.4 in those who received standard care. The risk of development delay was similar between groups: 51 % of children placed on their mother’s chest and 49 % of babies who have benefited from standard care. On the other hand, in terms of breastfeeding, the results were better in large premature people who have made skin to skin. At the end of the hospital, 84 % of them were breastfed, compared to 67 % in the other group followed by standard care. At 12 months, 44 % were still breastfed, compared to 26 %.
Skin to skin, an inexpensive intervention to adopt
Rather than carrying out additional research, researchers recommend a broader adoption of this inexpensive intervention, given its security and lasting profits for breastfeeding. “Improvement of parent-child proximity could have practical importance in neonatal care, even when neurodevelopmental scores remain unchanged.”
