Premium
Observation study showed that the continuity of skin‐to‐skin contact with low‐birthweight infants in Uganda was suboptimal
Author(s) -
Watkins Heather C.,
Morgan Melissa C.,
Nambuya Harriet,
Waiswa Peter,
Lawn Joy E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14344
Subject(s) - medicine , observational study , duration (music) , skin to skin , low birth weight , neonatal intensive care unit , pediatrics , pregnancy , breastfeeding , art , literature , biology , genetics
Aim Kangaroo mother care ( KMC ) is a safe and effective method of reducing neonatal mortality in resource‐limited settings, but there has been a lack of data on the duration of skin‐to‐skin contact ( SSC ) in busy, low‐resource newborn units. Previous studies of intermittent KMC suggest the duration of SSC ranged from 10 minutes to 17 hours per day. Methods This was an observational study of newborn infants born weighing less than 2000 g, which collected quantitative data on SSC over the first week after birth. The study took place in July 2016 in the newborn unit of a low‐resource facility in Uganda. Results The mean daily duration of SSC over the first week after birth was three hours. This differed significantly from the World Health Organization recommendation of at least 20 hours of SSC per day. SSC was provided by mothers most of the time (73.5%), but other family members also took part, especially on the day of birth. Conclusion Our study found a disappointingly low daily duration of SSC in this Ugandan newborn unit. However, advocacy and community education of SSC may help to decrease the stigma of KMC , improve overall acceptance and reduce the age at SSC initiation.