Early father-infant skin-to-skin contact and its effect on the neurodevelopmental outcomes of moderately preterm infants in China: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is an evidence-based intervention that benefits low birth weight /preterm infants. However, China's health institutional policy inhibits parents from visiting their baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In addition, the Chinese traditional postpartum behavioral practice of confining women to home raises barriers to mother-infant contact. Thus, to shorten the duration of parent-infant separation, father-infant SSC is considered a possible alternative. This study determines whether it is safe to perform father-infant SSC in the NICU and investigates how paternal SSC affects outcomes compared with traditional care (TC) for moderately preterm infants.

Methods/design

A randomized controlled trial will be used to investigate the eff

SUBMITTER: Deng Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6303962 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature