Files
Download Full Text (314 KB)
Keywords
skin-to-skin contact, newborn, evidence-based project
Disciplines
Nursing
Description
Implementing skin-to-skin contact (SSC) post-delivery is essential for newborn temperature regulation. Newborns have a reduced capacity for generating heat, which leads to decreased temperatures. Implementing SSC allows heat to be transferred from mother to infant, therefore regulating newborn temperatures. This evidence-based project (EBP) focuses on initiating SSC to determine its effectiveness in maintaining temperatures above 36.5 degrees Celsius. The research question being: In newborn infants, does SSC compared to the absence of SSC improve thermoregulation?
SSC is defined as placing a naked infant with a diaper and/or hat on its mother's bare skin, covered with a blanket (Moore-ER et al., 2016). Baby friendly hospitals recommend SSC post-delivery for at least one hour ("the golden hour") to prevent hypothermia, improve blood glucose, promote comfort, and reduce morbidity rates (Safari et al., 2018). Thermostability is the capacity to maintain a body temperature between 36.5 and 37.4 degrees Celsius (Lode-Kolz et al., 2023). SSC facilitates thermoregulation by activating the infant's sensory nerves and sending information to the central nervous system, which permits an increase in body temperature (Safari et al., 2018).
Skin to skin contact not only benefits thermoregulation as a baby transitions to extrauterine life, but it can allow for better physiological adjustment and transition overall for the newborn. There have also been associations with decreased sudden unexplained incidences of newborn death and infant mortality. SSC also improves breastfeeding experiences and longevity, as well as birth satisfaction. Finally, there are many benefits to the mother including shorter 3rd stage of labor (birth to placenta delivery time), uterine contraction immediately after birth, and reduces postpartum hemorrhage incidence (Brimdyr et al., 2023).
Publication Date
5-2025
Recommended Citation
Maki K, Sandas R, Bader A, Formanek S. Skin-to-skin contact and thermoregulation in newborns. Presented at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital; 2025 May 6-12; Royal Oak, MI.
Comments
Nurses Week at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, May 6-12, 2025.