Geneva:
Skin-to-skin contact is key to improving the survival of premature and small babies, the WHO said Tuesday in a major review of policy that previously called for the use of incubators.
The new guidelines mark a major turnaround in the way the UN health organization recommends neonatal intensive care for small babies.
Allowing mothers or other caregivers and premature babies to stay close together from the start, without separation, increases the chances of survival, Karen Edmond, a physician and pediatrician for the World Health Organization, told reporters in Geneva.
“The first hug with a parent is not only emotionally important, but absolutely critical to improving the survival and health outcomes of small and premature babies,” she said.
The new guidelines for treating babies born before 37 weeks of gestation or less than 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) apply in all circumstances, the WHO said.
Immediate skin-to-skin contact should be provided “even for babies who are unwell and have breathing problems,” it said, emphasizing “they, too, need close contact with their mother from birth.”
Earlier, the WHO had said that “unstable” newborns weighing less than two kilograms at birth should be placed in incubators.
The WHO describes preterm birth as a “urgent public health problem”, with an estimated 15 million babies born prematurely each year – accounting for one in 10 births.
With its update Tuesday, the UN agency has issued 25 recommendations on the care of premature babies, including 11 that were new since the last update in 2015.
The guidelines cover issues such as nurturing care, care during illness and emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding premature babies.
And for the first time ever, the guidelines also include recommendations on family involvement, including a call for intensive care units to restructure so that mother and baby can stay together.
It’s important, Edmond said, to “keep the baby in 24/7 skin-to-skin contact, even if the baby needs to be in … intensive care.”
The guidelines also propose, for the first time, more emotional and financial support for caregivers of premature babies.
“Parent leave is a must to help families care for the child,” Edmond said, adding that caregivers of preterm infants should receive adequate financial and workplace support, as well as post-discharge home visits.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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