Immediate skin-to-skin contact is preferable to a step in an incubator for premature or too-small babies, the WHO (World Health Organization) now recommends.
The institution has called for a step change in the way neonatal intensive care is provided to young children. It found that allowing mothers or other caregivers and premature babies to stay close together from birth, without separation, provides “significant health benefits,” Karen Edmond, a doctor and WHO pediatrician, told a news conference in Geneva.
“The first hug with a father is not only emotionally important, but also absolutely essential to improve the chances of survival and the health of babies who are too small and premature,” she emphasized.
25 new recommendations on the subject
This new recommendation on how to treat babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy or weighing less than 2.5 kilograms applies in all settings, the WHO stresses.
Immediate skin-to-skin contact must be guaranteed “even for babies with respiratory difficulties. They also need close contact with their mother from birth,” the UN agency considers.
For the WHO, premature births are an “urgent public health problem” that affects 15 million babies each year, or one in 10 births.
In its updated recommendations, WHO makes 25 recommendations on the care of premature babies, including 11 new ones since the last update in 2015. These recommendations cover all areas and emphasize the importance of breastfeeding premature babies.
Rethink the entire care cycle
And for the first time, the guidelines also include recommendations on family engagement, including a call for intensive care units to reposition so mother and baby can stay together.
It’s important to keep “the baby skin-to-skin 24/7, even if they have to be in intensive care,” says Dr. Karen Edmond.
The guidelines also propose for the first time that greater psychological and financial support be provided to relatives of premature babies.
“Parental leave is essential to help families care for the baby,” Karen Edmond said, adding that parents of premature babies should receive sufficient financial and professional support, as well as home visits after hospital discharge.
Source: BFM TV
