Skin-to-Skin Contact at Birth in the COVID-19 Era: In Need of Help!

Davanzo, Riccardo; Merewood, Anne; Manzoni, Paolo

doi:10.1055/s-0040-1714255

Cited by 22 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…7 Other countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America, recommended maternity care practices during the pandemic that were consistent with WHO/UNICEF pandemic guidelines with respect to breastfeeding, skin-to-skin care, and rooming-in. 5,6,[12][13][14][15][16][17] Although there have been several commentaries on the importance of keeping mothers and infants together and supporting breastfeeding practices, [18][19][20][21] there have been little published data on Baby-Friendly practices such as uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact, direct breastfeeding, or rooming-in with the infant within arms' reach during the pandemic, as related to viral transmission. We were specifically interested in testing the infant being within arms' reach, which allows for easier feeding and recognition of hunger cues, 1 as opposed to being in the same room but out of reach, for example, 2 m away.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and Infant Outcomes Associated with Maternity Practices Related to COVID-19: The COVID Mothers Study

Bartick

Valdés

Giusti

et al. 2021

Breastfeeding Medicine

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Background: Maternity care practices such as skin-to-skin care, rooming-in, and direct breastfeeding are recommended, but it is unclear if these practices increase the risk of clinically significant COVID-19 in newborns, and if disruption of these practices adversely affects breastfeeding. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 357 mothers and their infants <12 months who had confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Subjects came from an anonymous worldwide online survey between May 4 and September 30, 2020, who were recruited through social media, support groups, and health care providers. Using multivariable logistic regression, Fisher's exact test, and summary statistics, we assessed the association of skin-to-skin care, feeding, and rooming-in with SARS-CoV-2 outcomes, breastfeeding outcomes, and maternal distress. Results: Responses came from 31 countries. Among SARS-CoV-2+ mothers whose infection was £3 days of birth, 7.4% of their infants tested positive. We found a nonsignificant decrease in risk of hospitalization among neonates who roomed-in, directly breastfed, or experienced uninterrupted skin-to-skin care (p > 0.2 for each). Infants who did not directly breastfeed, experience skin-to-skin care, or who did not room-in within arms' reach, were significantly less likely to be exclusively breastfed in the first 3 months, adjusting for maternal symptoms (p £ 0.02 for each). Nearly 60% of mothers who experienced separation reported feeling ''very distressed,'' and 29% who tried to breastfeed were unable. Presence of maternal symptoms predicted infant transmission or symptoms (adjusted odds ratio = 4.50, 95% confidence interval = 1.52-13.26, p = 0.006). Conclusion: Disruption of evidence-based quality standards of maternity care is associated with harm and may be unnecessary.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and Infant Outcomes Associated with Maternity Practices Related to COVID-19: The COVID Mothers Study

Bartick

Valdés

Giusti

et al. 2021

Breastfeeding Medicine

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“…Breastfeeding has health benefits for both infants and mothers and is recommended by numerous health and medical organizations* , † (1). The birth hospitalization is a critical period for establishing breastfeeding; however, some hospital practices, particularly related to mother-newborn contact, have given rise to concern about the potential for mother-to-newborn transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (2). CDC conducted a COVID-19 survey (July 15-August 20, 2020) among 1,344 hospitals that completed the 2018 Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey to assess current practices and breastfeeding support while in the hospital.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Hospital Practices Supportive of Breastfeeding in the Context of COVID-19 — United States, July 15–August 20, 2020

Perrine¹,

Chiang²,

Anstey³

et al. 2020

MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep.

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“…During COVID-19, scientific societies are expected to legitimize and integrate SSC into their clinical practice indices based on new knowledge on the perinatal area and recently decided by the Italian Society of Neonatology [ 83 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact and Stress Regulation: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Ionio

Ciuffo

Landoni

2021

IJERPH

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Several studies have focused on neonatal maternal separation (MS) to investigate behavioural and neuroendocrine reactions to lack of contact, but only a few have focused on early separation in the first days or weeks after birth. This literature review investigates the vital importance of contact and touch by exploring how skin-to-skin contact (SSC) regulates stress in the mother–infant relationship. Various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were searched for literature published between 2015 and 2020. From 1141 articles, 22 were declared eligible. The reviewed articles showed how SSC regulates child stress by biological indicators such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS), heart rate variability (HRV), cortisol, and oxytocin. This research concludes the importance of SSC for stress regulation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With no research to date indicating a possible risk of neonatal COVID-19 transmission following SSC, SSC should continue to be practiced for all women, as recommended by the WHO.

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Skin-to-Skin Contact at Birth in the COVID-19 Era: In Need of Help!

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

Maternal and Infant Outcomes Associated with Maternity Practices Related to COVID-19: The COVID Mothers Study

Maternal and Infant Outcomes Associated with Maternity Practices Related to COVID-19: The COVID Mothers Study

Implementation of Hospital Practices Supportive of Breastfeeding in the Context of COVID-19 — United States, July 15–August 20, 2020

Parent–Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact and Stress Regulation: A Systematic Review of the Literature

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