Should the Practice of Skin-to-Skin Contact between Mother and Newborn Continue?

Infants and parents are biologically tuned to become attached to each other and this attachment promotes the baby's survival. In the United States, Kangaroo cares a method of skin to skin, contact in which a newborn has lied face down between the mother's breast for an hour or so at a time after birth. In Africa, the baby is raised in a caring family atmosphere where there is an extended family to take care of the babies. The mother caries baby on her back while working and spends time taking and playing with the baby. In Mongolia, the mother gets very less time to spend with the baby as she has to run errands and most of the times she has to work away from the baby. The social interaction is only during a family get-together for the baby. In America and Japan, the babies are taken to the park, shopping malls and the music classes for them to be social also the grandparents visit them often. The babies living in the countryside and tribe have less strange anxiety than children in the city like Tokyo and San Francisco. Secure attachment is when faced with a stressful situation and the caregiver effectively comforts the

Mothers and newborns have a physiologic need to be together during the first moment of birth. Interrupted skin-to-skin attachment between mothers and babies can be harmful and can negatively impact short and long term health outcomes and breastfeeding success. Evidence supports instant skin-to-skin care after the birth, vaginally and C-section, during and after cesarean surgery for all stable mothers and newborns will enhance limitless opportunities for care and breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin contact after delivery is golden opportunity. Many studies validate that mothers and babies should be skin-to-skin promptly after birth. Not only promotes healthier baby and successful breastfeeding outcome, it is also

Skin to skin contact in the delivery room and breastfeeding are best for mothers and infant. Skin to skin contact helps mothers become confident with their infants, decreases the mother’s anxiety toward motherhood, helps produce more breast milk, and helps them become aware of their infant’s cues, not to mention an incredible lifelong bonding experience. As for the infant’s benefits of skin to skin contact, it helps with temperature regulation, stabilization of the heart rate, control of the infant’s blood sugar, and helps with weight gain. When initiating immediate skin to skin contact, infants should be placed on their mother’s chest for instinctive skills. The infant begins to smell their mother’s breast and look at their mother, which

Special care and attention must be given to infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because of their small size and the health complications they face. One particular challenge faced by health care professionals in the NICU is the management of pain for preterm babies. Preterm infants must undergo a wide range of tests, procedures, and, often, life-saving measures during their hospitalizations, which not only subjects them to pain, but pain-related stress and anxiety. This has an impact on the infants themselves, as well as on the family members and friends who are involved in their care (Smith, Steelfisher, Salhi, & Shen, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to examine the problem of pain management among preterm NICU patients and propose the implementation of kangaroo care as a pain management technique.

closeness with her newborn” (United Sates 3). With all of these proven health benefits, there is

For the past two decades, the limit of gestational viability has been 22-24 weeks (Bhat, Weinberger, & Hanna, 2012). Around 50 years ago, a premature infant born between 22-24 weeks was not considered viable and resuscitation was only considered at 27-28 weeks (Kushchel & Kent, 2011). Medicine and technology advances have improved neonatology drastically and infants are surviving at lower gestational ages. However, many studies show very low survival rates of 22-week neonates and some physician refuse to resuscitate and provide only comfort care. In the NICHD Neonatal Network between 2003 and 2007, infants that were incubated and resuscitated had a 6% survival rate at 22 weeks and a 55% survival rate at 24 weeks (Bhat et al, 2012). Another study followed a hospital for many years were they delivered 85 infants at 22-week

My plan and dissemination and implementation for my capstone project is to educate the nurses on the importance of teaching parents about the proper use of skin-to-skin contact. I plan on implementing this project by providing the nurses with the latest evidence based practice so that they can help implement this in their education in the NICU unit at Mount Sinai. Nurses are viewed as reliable source by the patient therefore it is important for us to implement good quality teaching. When I present this project to the unit I will make the following recommendations: to examine and reinforce the education among nurses in the unit and to encourage parents to attend a two hour hands on training course before discharge on skin-to-skin contact.

This qualitative study are gathering data on premature babies who are at high risks for neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes in the neonatal intensive care unit other known as NICU. The purpose of this research is to decrease their deficits in language, attention, cognitive development, communication delay and their executive functions. According to the researchers, to minimize the premature infants’ deficits is allowing constant maternal physical contact, verbal soothing, breastfeeding, odor and heat exchange and eye contacts in the NICU. Their main focus is to make sure the premature infants have constant access to their maternal figures to allow them to lower their odds of neurological deficits and behavioral outcomes and enrolling the premature into Family Nurture Intervention (FNI). FNI is a new intervention program designed to overcome their flawed effects of maternal separation and the NICU environment on the premature infant (Welch, M. G 1203).

The effects of stimulation on infant development cannot be understated. The more research that has gone into the importance of this the more emphasis is placed on attempting to correct sensory deprivation. In hospital NICUs we see more interaction with children that are born premature. We are also seeing a greater emphasis on placing orphaned children into homes where they can benefit from direct caregiver contact and have a more stimulating environment to explore. Now, more than in the past, we see the need

Kangaroo care as described by Dr. Susan Ludington, is more than just skin-to-skin contact. Kangaroo care is having the infant’s chest directly touching the mother’s chest (Ludington, 2014). Kangaroo care provides the opportunity for the baby to bond with whomever is providing the kangaroo care, mother or father usually (Ludington, 2014). When the mother is using kangaroo care with the infant, the infant is more likely to start breastfeeding, which is important shortly after birth so that the infant gets the first dose of breast milk which contains colostrum, which is thought to be the babies first immunization (Ludington, 2014). According to Kathleen Kuhn and Megan Kuhn, when using kangaroo care with a premature infant, nurses will help decide when the best time to hold the baby is. Some benefits of kangaroo care for the mother include a higher production of milk, the mother feeling closer to the baby, help with coping due to “the baby blues”, learning to respond to the baby’s needs, increased confidence for the mother, and the initiation of breastfeeding (Kuhn & Kuhn, 2011). Benefits for the baby include sleeping better, crying less, regulation of body temperature, the ability to move to an open crib sooner, better breathing, weight gain, preparation for breastfeeding, and more connection with the mother (Kuhn & Kuhn,

There are a plethora of benefits associated with skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. Though evidence-based practice has identified the benefits associated with skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, there is a disparity based on type of birth. Mothers who deliver via caesarean section often have less opportunity for immediate skin-to-skin contact with their baby after birth. This article focuses on the benefits of skin-to-skin contact and includes a research study comparing the opinions of mothers who have experienced caesarean section births, with and without immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth.

Some might wonder, well what exactly is skin to skin contact after birth? Skin to skin contact is basically when the newborn is placed in their mother’s arms or belly and left there. Once left there the newborn usually finds its way to the breast to be breast feed. Research has shown that newborns tend to be more alert within the first two hours of life. When a healthy naked newborn is placed in skin to skin contact at birth, it uses its senses to set a course and eventually will find and attach itself to the breast. All healthy babies should be dried and placed naked on the mother’s chest for skin to skin contact immediately after birth, and held there in a peaceful environment until the infant has made contact with the breast. This

The nurse must be mindful of each intervention initiated and the possible benefits of the intervention against its potential harmful effects for both mother and fetus. Not providing basic comfort measures for the mother can cause serious physical and emotional problems and could lead to possible fatigue and feelings of failure from the mother. The priority of this nursing intervention is to provide the mother and fetus with the least discomfort as possible and

Through research, skin-to-skin (kangaroo) care has been shown to be one of the most affective early interventions used by parents. It has been stated that kangaroo care helps to regulate preterm infants ' body temperatures, improve preterm infants ' breathing patterns and blood oxygen levels, and increase the rate at which preterm infants gain weight. Kangaroo care has been known to diminish apnea, slow heart rates, and hospital stays for preterm babies. Kangaroo care intervention includes rhythmic, sensory, and tactile elements. These elements help preterm infants ' attention span, development of both motor and mental skills, and cognitive development. When a mother participates in kangaroo care, the preterm infant is placed in between her breasts and when a father participates in this type of intervention, the preterm infant is placed next to his chest. Mothers who participate in kangaroo care state they have more positive emotions toward their baby and they have a better feel of their parenting role (Feldman, Eidelman, Sirota, & Weller, 2002).

The research I conducted on the subject of early skin to skin care between mother and infant states overwhelmingly that whether or not the mother is breastfeeding, early skin to skin contact has numerous benefits. The fact that this evidence based practice is not implemented for the families admitted to a facility is very concerning, however, as a nurse I’m able to understand how this practice could be shunned by staff regardless of the many benefits for mother and neonate. Time constraints, lack of training, and education, coupled with nursing shortages are the reasons that pop out to me for not implementing this time sensitive care for the patients on a birthing unit.