CHILD This recommendation, published on the WHO website on Tuesday, concerns babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy or weighing less than 2.5 kg
The WHO calls for a radical change in neonatal intensive care for babies born prematurely or too small. Now, she recommends immediate skin-to-skin contact instead of going through an incubator. The agency has determined that allowing mothers or other caregivers and newborns to remain close from birth, without separation, provides « major health benefits », said WHO physician and pediatrician Karen Edmond during a press briefing in Geneva (Switzerland).
A “need for close contact”
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 with breathing difficulties” because “they too need close contact with their mother from birth”.
« 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, » underlined Karen Edmund.
Skin to skin even in intensive care
In its updated recommendations, published on the WHO website on Tuesday , the organization sets out 25 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 to keep « the baby in skin-to-skin contact 24/7, even if he has to be in intensive care, » Dr Edmond said.
Financial assistance for parents
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 take care of 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 from hospital.
For the WHO, premature births are an « urgent public health problem » which affects 15 million babies each year, or one in 10 births.
