Delivery room skin‐to‐skin contact brings mother–child‐interaction of preterm infants close to normal

Abstract

Sensi�ve paren�ng is characterized by observable parental behaviours in the interac�on with their children such as frequent, warm, and promptly reac�ons to children's signals.It facilitates secure atachment and works as a protec�ve factor for developmental and behavioural problems in both, preterm 1 and term infants 2 .Improved mother child interac�on (MCI) at six months was recently reported 3 in preterm infants who had delivery room skin-to-skin contact (DR-SSC) for one hour compared to preterm infants with only visual contact (DR-VC).However, this improvement was not evaluated in rela�on to the quality of the interac�on between full-term infants and their mothers 3 .Consequently, our study was conceptualized to assess MCI at six months in a cohort of healthy term infants and mothers without mental problems.In addi�on, a strict protocol of non-separa�on within the first hours a�er birth was applied.Secondly, we compared MCI of the term infants to two groups of preterm infants who were randomized to either DR-SSC or DR-VC 3 in the delivery room skin-to-skin study.As poten�al cofactors we assessed maternal depression, perceived social support, parental stress, and bonding quality. MethodsHealthy term infants were recruited consecu�vely from three different maternal wards in Cologne, Germany between July 2019, and July 2020.Inclusion criteria were firstborn child, non-separa�on of mother and her infant within the first hours a�er birth and writen informed consent.Exclusion criteria were mul�ples, resuscita�on a�er birth, infant malforma�ons, or gene�c syndromes of as well as maternal mental or severe physical problems.The Ethics Commitee of the University of Cologne approved the study.MCI was assessed at the age of six months by videotaping a nappy changing session.The video was taken either in our video laboratory at the hospital or at home, while the infant was awake, alert, and well-fed.To evaluate maternal and infant behaviour simultaneously, a split screen technique by two cameras was used.Maternal and infant behaviour was analysed by a trained and reliable blinded

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