Skin-to-skin contact may lower preemies risk of death: review
Tiny newborns who get prolonged skin-to-skin contact with mom while theyre in the hospital may have better survival odds, a new review finds.
Experts said the analysis, of 124 studies from around the world, confirms the value of kangaroo care for premature newborns.
The concept goes back to the 1970s, when a doctor in Colombia started advocating the practice as an alternative to incubators, which are not readily available in some parts of the world. Instead, mothers hold their newborn against the chest, skin-to-skin, with a blanket over the baby.
Research since then has shown that kangaroo care not only regulates newborns body temperature, but also improves other vital signs -- like heart rate and breathing -- and promotes breast-feeding.
The new review, reported online Dec. 22 in the journal Pediatrics, confirmed that for preterm newborns, kangaroo care can also lower the risk of sepsis -- a serious blood infection -- and boost infants survival odds.
Across the studies, newborns given kangaroo care, along with standard medical care, had a 36 percent lower death rate than those under standard care only. They also had about half the risk of developing sepsis, a 78 percent lower risk of hypothermia, and an 88 percent lower risk of dangerously low blood sugar.
There are some caveats, according to the researchers: The studies were done in various countries,
which meant the definition of standard medical care varied.
And most of the studies looking at deaths and serious infections were done in low- or middle-income countries -- where those complications are much more common than in the United States and other wealthy countries, said senior study author Dr. Grace Chan.
Source: drugs.com
