The Effect of Early Skin-to-skin Contact on Initiation of Breastfeeding, Newborn Temperature and Duration of Third Stage of Labor

Hawler Medical University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Breastfeeding

Treatments: Other: Skin to skin contact

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03548389

2

Details and patient eligibility

About

Background: Keeping mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth brings about numerous protective effects; however, it is an intervention that is underutilized in Iraq where a globally considerable rate of maternal and child death has been reported. The present study was carried out in order to assess the effects of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact on initiation of breastfeeding, newborn temperature, and duration of the third stage of labor.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 108 healthy women and their neonates (56 in the intervention group with mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact and 52 in the control group that were provided with routine postpartum care) at maternity teaching hospital of Erbil, Iraq from February to May, 2017. The required data were collected using four instruments. The first instrument was a structured interview to elicit socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics from the participants. The second instrument was a form that was used to assess the duration of the third stage of labor in mothers. The third instrument was a form to record the newborns' axillary temperature. The fourth instrument was the LATCH scale that was employed to assess the success of the first breastfeed.Descriptive relationships between demographic variables and type of care provided for mothers and newborns after birth were explored using means and SD for continuous variables, whilst categorical variables were described using proportions. The relationship between SSC and time to initiate breastfeeding, duration of third stage of labour, success of breastfeeding, newborn hypothermia, and temperature of the newborn 30 minutes after birth were examined using T test and Chi square. In logistic regression model, the effect of SSC and conventional care on outcomes of the study was analysed by adjusting of potential confounders like mother's age, education level, occupation, number of parity, and newborn gender.

Enrollment: 108 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• healthy women with term singleton pregnancy

Exclusion criteria

• low APGAR score in Newborn

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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108 participants in 2 patient groups

Mother and newborn skin to skin contact

Experimental group

Description:

By assistance of the researcher, intervention infants were placed undressed in a prone position against their mothers' bare chest between breasts immediately after birth and before placental delivery and suturing of tears or episiotomy. The Apgar score was determined, the infant's nose and mouth were suctioned while on the mother's chest, it was well dried, and both mother and infant were covered with a pre-warmed blanket. To prevent heat loss, the infant's head was covered with a dry cap that was replaced when it became damp. Dressing and measuring of the infant were postponed to an hour after the delivery by registered midwife.

Treatment:

Other: Skin to skin contact

Conventional care

No Intervention group

Description:

In the routine care group, the infant was delivered from the mother by a midwife, wrapped in blankets, taken to be routinely cared under a warmer, and then dried quickly. Afterwards, the Apgar score was determined immediately after the umbilical cord was cut. The infants were provided with all routine care by the midwife working in the delivery room. After the infants were weighed, dressed, and measured, they were handed to their mothers who were encouraged to begin breastfeeding.