New study shows prolonged skin–to–skin contact reduces neonatal hypoglycemia risk.
Skin–to–skin contact with mom helps newborns at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia stay out of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), according to a new study by clinicians at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney through the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.

The study, "Effects of Skin–to–Skin Care on Late Preterm and Term Infants At–Risk for Neonatal Hypoglycemia," was recently published in the journal Pediatric Quality and Safety.

"Skin–to–skin contact with mother is a fascinating process," said Arpitha Chiruvolu, MD, medical director of the NICU at Baylor Scott & White– McKinney. "Multiple studies have shown that skin–to–skin contact increases infant blood glucose levels, but no prior study has reported effects on the functional outcomes of neonatal hypoglycemia, such as NICU admissions."

Skin–to–skin care helps with temperature regulation and brown fat conservation in infants, which may help prevent depletion of glycogen stores. Previous studies have also shown it can decrease baby's stress after birth and improve mother's colostrum production, which both help stabilize blood sugar levels.

For this study, researchers kept the infant skin–to–skin with the mother as much as possible during blood glucose monitoring, which ranged from 12 to 24 hours. The first two hours after birth were uninterrupted, and after that the mother was continuously encouraged to keep the baby skin–to–skin as much as possible until glucose monitoring was complete.

Results showed among the infants born at risk of hypoglycemia, the number of admissions to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for hypoglycemia decreased significantly, from 8.1 percent to 3.5 percent over 12 months. The number of infants exclusively breastfed also increased from 36.4 percent to 45.7 percent. This study has prompted clinicians to incorporate skin–to–skin contact into the care protocol for newborns at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia.

Skin–to–skin care is encouraged with all infants born at Baylor Scott & White – McKinney, including those not at risk for neonatal hypoglycemia. The practice helps encourage breastfeeding and bonding, and helps baby adjust to life outside of the womb.

"We believe in mother and infant being together," Dr. Chiruvolu said. "Skin–to–skin care makes a big difference in avoiding mother infant separation, and provides many other benefits not measured by this study."