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Time of initiation of skin‐to‐skin contact in extremely preterm infants in Sweden
Author(s) -
Mörelius Evalotte,
Angelhoff Charlotte,
Eriksson Jennie,
Olhager Elisabeth
Publication year - 2012
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/j.1651-2227.2011.02398.x
Subject(s) - medicine , skin to skin , neonatal intensive care unit , gestational age , pediatrics , population , pregnancy , breastfeeding , environmental health , biology , genetics
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.