SKIN-TO-SKIN CARE WITH 39 PRETERM INFANTS

Introduction: More and more preterm infants are taken out of the incubator for skin-to-skin contact with their parents. Is Kangaroo care a cold stress to the preterm infant? Methods: We examined 39 spontaneously breathing preterm infants (1110 (740-2125) g, gestational age 28 (25-32) weeks). We measured rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, inspiratory oxygen concentration, transcutaneously measured oxygen and carbon dioxid and arterial oxygen saturation during incubator care and during the first Kangaroo care (postnatal age 10 (4-40) days). Results: The rectal temperature increased during Kangaroo care by 0.23 degrees C (p < 0.01). None of the other parameters changed. Rectal temperature also increased significantly when preterm infants below 1000 g birthweight were analysed separately, Of the 16 infants with elevated inspiratory oxygen 13 infants needed even more oxygen during Kangaroo care. Mean inspiratory oxygen had to be increased from 29 % to 35 % (p < 0.01). Of 167 Kangaroo periods 21 had to be interrupted because of busy nursery (7 x), restlessness of the baby (5 x), increasing apnea/bradycardia (4 x), hypothermia (3 x), infusion para (1 x) and rapidly increasing inspiratory oxygen (1 x). Conclusion: During Kangaroo care over 90 % of the preterm infants remained clinically stable and normothermic, These results justify continuing Kangaroo care in order to study, by measuring oxygen consumption, whether it is a thermoneutral care.