KC had a significant positive impact on the infant's perceptual-cognitive and motor development and on the parenting process. We speculate that KC has both a direct impact on infant development by contributing to neurophysiological organization and an indirect effect by improving parental mood, perceptions, and interactive behavior.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome occurs in 30% of neonates exposed to SSRIs in utero. These neonates should be monitored for at least 48 hours after birth. The long-term effects of prolonged exposure to SSRIs, particularly in neonates who develop severe symptoms, have yet to be determined.

Changes take place in SCH, water loss, and pH in the first 2 days after birth, suggesting that the stratum corneum barrier is still in the process of adapting to extrauterine life. The significant anatomic variability in TEWL and SCH should be taken into account in evaluating the permeation of skin care products and topical medications in newborns.

The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care, or KC) on self-regulatory processes of premature infants was studied. Seventy-three infants who received KC were compared with 73 infants matched for birth weight, gestational age, medical risk, and family demographics. State organization was measured in 10-s epochs over 4 hr before KC and again at term. No differences between KC infants and controls were found before KC. At term, KC infants showed more mature state distribution and more organized sleep-wake cyclicity. At 3 months, KC infants had higher thresholds to negative emotionality and more efficient arousal modulation while attending to increasingly complex stimuli. At 6 months, longer duration of and shorter latencies to mother-infant shared attention and infant sustained exploration in a toy session were found for KC infants. The results underscore the importance of maternal body contact for infants' physiological, emotional, and cognitive regulatory capacities.

ABSTRACT. Objective. High-grade intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is an important cause of severe cognitive and motor neurologic impairment in very low birth weight infants and is associated with a high mortality rate. The risk of IVH is inversely related to gestational age and birth weight. Previous studies have proposed a number of risk factors for IVH; however, lack of adequate matching for gestational age and birth weight may have confounded the results. The purpose of this study was to identify variables that affect the risk of high-grade IVH, using a retrospective and case-control clinical study.Methods. From a cohort of 641 consecutive preterm infants with a birth weight of <1500 g, 36 infants with IVH grade 3 and/or 4 were identified. A control group of 69 infants, closely matched for gestational age and birth weight, was selected. Maternal factors, labor and delivery characteristics, and neonatal parameters were collected in both groups. Results of cranial ultrasound examinations, whether routine or performed in presence of clinical suspicion, were also collected. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed.Results. High fraction of inspired oxygen in the first 24 hours, pneumothorax, fertility treatment (mostly in vitro fertilization), and early sepsis were associated with an increased risk of IVH. A higher number of suctioning procedures, a higher first hematocrit, and a relatively low arterial pressure of carbon dioxide during the first 24 hours of life were associated with a lower occurrence. In the multivariate logistic regression model, early sepsis (odds ratio [

The provision of maternal-infant body contact during a period of maternal separation was examined for its effects on parent-infant and triadic interactions. Participants were 146 three-month-old preterm infants and their parents, half of whom received skin-to-skin contact, or kangaroo care (KC), in the neonatal nursery. Global relational style and micro-patterns of proximity and touch were coded. Following KC, mothers and fathers were more sensitive and less intrusive, infants showed less negative affect, and family style was more cohesive. Among KC families, maternal and paternal affectionate touch of infant and spouse was more frequent, spouses remained in closer proximity, and infant proximity position was conducive to mutual gaze and touch during triadic play. The role of touch as a constituent of the co-regulatory parent-infant and triadic systems and the effects of maternal contact on mothering, co-parenting, and family processes are discussed.

Although only 2.4% of VLBW infants had an episode of EOS, these infants were at an approximately threefold excess risk of death or major neurologic morbidities.

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