(Geneva) Immediate skin-to-skin contact is preferable to a passage in an incubator for babies born premature or too small, now recommends the WHO.
The World Health Organization has called for a radical change in the way neonatal intensive care is delivered to toddlers. The agency has determined that allowing mothers or other caregivers and premature babies to stay close from birth, without separation, provides “major health benefits,” said Karen Edmond, a WHO physician and pediatrician, during a press briefing in Geneva.
“I like to think of it this way: the first hug with a parent is not only emotionally important, but also absolutely essential to improving the chances of survival and the health of babies who are too small and premature,” said she pointed out.
This new recommendation on how to treat babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy or weighing less than 2.5 kilograms applies in all settings, WHO stresses.
Immediate skin-to-skin contact must be ensured “even for babies suffering from breathing difficulties”, estimates the UN agency, which insists: “They too need close contact with their mother from birth”.
For the WHO, premature births are an “urgent public health problem” which affects 15 million babies each year, or one in 10 births.
In its updated recommendations, the WHO makes 25 recommendations on the care of premature babies, including 11 new ones since the last update in 2015.
These recommendations cover all areas and emphasize 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 rearrange themselves so mother and baby can stay together.
It’s important, Dr Edmond said, to keep “the baby in skin-to-skin contact 24/7, even if he has to be in intensive care.”
The guidelines also propose for the first time that increased psychological and financial support be given to relatives of premature babies.
“Parental leave is essential to help families care for the infant,” said Karen Edmond, adding that parents of premature babies should be provided with sufficient financial and professional support, as well as home visits after discharge. of the hospital.