Skin contact in the first few hours helps to protect premature infants

Um a study conducted by a team of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) revealed that skin contact with the newborn in the first hours can reduce the rate of infections and the risk of death.

“ The results indicate that kangaroo [skin skin] care applied in the first 24 hours of life is associated with a 19% decrease in 28-day mortality and a reduction in infection rate,” says the FMUP teacher. Sandra Costa who signs an article published in May in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine.

The analysis examined the effects of kangaroo care on the health of 1,679 babies given in the light before 32 weeks of gestation and/or weight below 1500 grams at birth.

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In a statement sent to the agency Lusa, FMUP states that the team of researchers that included professionals from the Local Health Unit São João, in Porto, focused on a group of greater vulnerability and greater neurobiological risk to perceive the impact of early kangaroo care on the most vulnerable babies, particularly in newborns between 28 and 32 weeks.

“Kangaroo care should start early in the hospital and can be continued at home for as many hours as possible. In practice, instead of being in an incubator, the baby is placed on the breast of the mother or father, maintaining all the necessary care and treatments such as monitoring, ventilation or nutrition”, adds the author of the article, quoted in the statement.

For the teacher and neonatologist, it is “very important to provide conditions for the presence of parents in the NICU [Nonnatal Intensive Care Unit] since the birth of the baby and to train the teams with theoretical training and simulation training”.

Considering that “so far, the lack of specific evidence on the benefits for these newborns could constitute a barrier to the application of kangaroo care by health professionals, including neonatologists and nurses”, the team makes recommendations on “the effectiveness of kangaroo care in large preterm infants”.

“ ANDthese recommendations are important for professionals, for providing evidence for the implementation of kangaroo care in a population at risk”, it reads in the conclusions.

And, without forgetting the parents, the team recommends that they attach importance to their participation in the care of very premature newborns from day one, even when they need to be admitted to intensive care.

“By promoting direct contact with the skin of the mother or father, we may be altering the flora of the newborn, with an impact on the risk of infection. In addition, kangaroo care has been associated with increased milk production by the mother, which can facilitate the feeding of these babies with breast milk, whose benefits are well known,” the researcher adds.

Initially adopted in developing countries as a low-cost technique, these care is currently defended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in all preterm and very low-weight newborns.

Coordinated by Sandra Costa, this study was attended by several professionals from FMUP and physicians from ULS São João, namely Joana Arêde Martins, Renato Ferreira da Silva, André Asunção, Fátima Clemente and Inês Azevedo.