The role of skin-to-skin contact in exclusive breastfeeding: a cohort study

OBJETIVE To understand the role of exposure to skin-to-skin contact and its minimum duration in determining exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge in infants weighing up to 1,800g at birth. METHODS A multicenter cohort study was carried out in five Brazilian neonatal units. Infants weighing ≤ 1,800g at birth were eligible. Skin-to-skin contact time was recorded by the health care team and parents on an individual chart. Maternal and infant data was obtained from maternal questionnaires and medical records. The Classification Tree, a machine learning method, was used for data analysis; the tree growth algorithm, using statistical tests, partitions the dataset into mutually exclusive subsets that best describe the response variable and calculates appropriate cut-off points for continuous variables, thus generating an efficient explanatory model for the outcome under study. RESULTS A total of 388 infants participated in the study, with a median of 31.6 (IQR = 29–31.8) weeks of gestation age and birth weight of 1,429g (IQR = 1,202–1,610). The exclusive breastfeeding rate at discharge was 61.6%. For infant’s weighting between 1,125g and 1,655g, exposed to skin-to-skin contact was strongly associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Moreover, infants who made an average > 149.6 min/day of skin-to-skin contact had higher chances in this outcome (74% versus 46%). In this group, those who received a severity score (SNAPPE-II) equal to zero increased their chances of breastfeeding (83% versus 63%). CONCLUSION Skin-to-skin contact proved to be of great relevance in maintaining exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge for preterm infants weighing 1,125g–1,655g at birth, especially in those with lower severity scores

Skin-to-skin contact and late-onset sepsis in newborns weighing up to 1,800g: a cohort study

Abstract Objectives: to evaluate the association between the time to initiate the first skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and the daily practice time with the rates of late-onset sepsis in newborns ≤1,800g. Methods: a multicentric cohort study was carried out at the neonatal units located in three Brazilian geographic regions. The SSC time was recorded in individual files by the hospital staff and the newborn’s parents. Maternal and neonatal data were obtained from medical records and through questionnaires applied to the mothers. Data analysis was carried out using a tree algorithm classification, which divided the data set into mutually exclusive subsets that best described the variable response. Results: 405 newborns participated in the study, with an average of 31.3 ± 2.7 weeks and 1,412g (QR=1,164-1,605g) as a median birth weight. The first SSC was carried out within 137 hours of life (≤5.7 days) was associated with a lower rate of late sepsis (p=0.02) for newborns who underwent daily SSC of 112.5 to 174.7 min/day (1.9 to 2.9h/day), with a reduction in the sepsis rate from 39.3% to 27.5%. Furthermore, the duration of SSC >174.7min/day (>2.9h/day) was relevant (p1,344g, with a reduction in this rate from 24.1% to 6%. Conclusions: SSP has been proven to be significant in reducing late-onset sepsis rates in preterm newborns, especially when carried out in a timely manner (≤5.7 days) and prolonged (>2.9h/day)

Características do contato pele a pele em unidades neonatais brasileiras: estudo multicêntrico

Resumo Objetivo Descrever o início, duração, local e quem realiza o contato pele a pele em unidades neonatais brasileiras. Métodos Estudo multicêntrico descritivo, longitudinal, realizado de maio de 2018 a março de 2020, em cinco unidades neonatais referência para o Método Canguru no Brasil, que incluiu recém-nascidos com peso até 1800g. As características maternas e dos recém-nascidos foram coletadas em prontuários e entrevistas. A prática do contato pele a pele era registrada em cartões anexados ao leito, preenchidos pela equipe e pelos pais. A análise ocorreu por meio de estatística descritiva. Resultados Foram incluídos 405 recém-nascidos, 51,4% do sexo masculino, mediana de idade gestacional de 31,4 semanas e de peso ao nascimento de 1.412g. Em relação ao tempo de realização do contato pele a pele, a mediana da frequência do contato diário foi de 1,5 vezes (IIQ: 1,2 - 2,4), o tempo/dia de 147 min/dia (IIQ: 106,7 - 263,0) e a realização do primeiro contato aos cinco dias de vida (IIQ:4,0-8,0). O maior tempo de contato/dia foi realizado pelas mães, com mediana de 137,8 min/dia (IIQ:95,6-232,1) e a segunda etapa do Método Canguru, Unidade de Cuidados Intermediários Canguru, foi o local onde se realizou por maior tempo o contato, com mediana de 184,4 min/dia (IIQ:124,7-455,4). Conclusão Nas unidades avaliadas, o contato pele a pele é praticado de forma intermitente, poucas vezes por dia, predominantemente pelas mães e com maior tempo de exposição na segunda etapa. É necessário buscar meios que possibilitem mais encontros entre mãe/pai-filho e que dê condições de maior permanência dos genitores no hospital