Immediate skin‐to‐skin contact may have beneficial effects on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation in very preterm infants

Abstract Aim Our aim was to investigate what effect immediate skin‐to‐skin contact with a parent had on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation of very preterm infants. Methods This randomised clinical trial was conducted during 2018–2021 at two university hospitals with three neonatal intensive care units in Norway and Sweden. Infants born from 28+0 to 32+6 weeks of gestation were randomised to immediate skin‐to‐skin contact with a parent for the first six postnatal hours or standard incubator care. The outcome was a composite cardiorespiratory stability score, based on serial measures of heart and respiratory rate, respiratory support, fraction of inspired oxygen and oxygen saturation. Results We recruited 91 newborn infants with a mean gestational age of 31+1 (range 28+4–32+6) weeks and mean birth weight of 1534 (range 555–2440) g: 46 received immediate skin‐to‐skin contact and 45 received incubator care. The group who received skin‐to‐skin contact had an adjusted mean score of 0.52 higher (95% confidence interval 0.38–0.67, p < 0.001) on a scale from zero to six when compared to the control group. Conclusion Immediate skin‐to‐skin contact for the first six postnatal hours had beneficial effects on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation of very preterm infants.