Bonding and Attachment with Baby in the Womb or in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: The Critical Role of Early Emotional Connections.

Bonding and attachment are known to be critically important for the well-being of infants and children. Both bonding and attachment can begin before birth, which impacts fetal and infant brain development and may improve birth outcomes. Babies in the womb and preterm babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can hear and respond to maternal voices with positive effects on physiologic stability, brain development, and language development. Supporting emotional connections before and after birth is the responsibility and the privilege of health-care providers who care for pregnant mothers and babies in the NICU.

Breastfeeding Practice Before Bottle-Feeding: An Initiative to Increase the Rate of Breastfeeding for Preterm Infants at the Time of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Discharge.

Preterm babies who received 72 hours of breastfeeding practice before introducing a bottle had significantly higher rates of breastfeeding at the time of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge than did babies who were introduced to bottle-feeding with or before breastfeeding during the first 72 hours of oral feeding or babies who were primarily bottle-fed. There were no statistical differences in corrected gestational age (CGA) at birth, first oral feeding, or full oral feeds, in days from first to full oral feeds, or in CGA or days of life at NICU discharge.

Neuroprotective Infant and Family-Centered Developmental Care for the Tiniest Babies: Perspectives from Key Members of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Small Baby Team.

Caring for extremely preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a multidisciplinary team effort. A clear understanding of roles for each member of the delivery team, anticipation of challenges, and standardized checklists support improved outcomes for this population. Physicians and nursing leaders are responsible for being role models and holding staff accountable for creating a unit culture of Neuroprotective Infant and Family-Centered Developmental Care. It is essential for parents to be included as part of the care team and babies to be acknowledged for their efforts in coping with the developmentally unexpected NICU environment.

A pivotal moment in the evolution of neonatal care.

While extraordinary advances have been made in the medical care of critically ill newborns, understanding the need of even the smallest of these infants for early, extensive, intimate human contact and facilitating the family's role in the care of their baby has been much slower and inconsistent. There is abundant evidence for the essential role of nurturing parent-infant connections (bonding/attachment) for development of optimal physical, cognitive, and emotional health of all babies. It is time to leave behind the tradition of sensory deprivation and social isolation common in the care of high-risk infants. A paradigm shift is needed in neonatal care to acknowledge the critical importance of infant and family-centered developmental care and to remove any remaining constraints on a family's ability to become full partners in the nurture of their NICU newborn.

Creating a small baby program: a single center's experience.

Creation of a small baby program requires special resources and multidisciplinary engagement. Such a program has the potential to improve patient care, parent and staff satisfaction, collaboration and communication. We have described benefits, challenges, and practical approaches to creating and maintaining a small baby program that could be a model for the development of special programs for other sub-populations within in the NICU.

A pilot study on the biochemical effects of repeated administration of 24% oral sucrose vs. 30% oral dextrose on urinary markers of adenosine triphosphate degradation.

OBJECTIVES: Premature neonates often receive oral sucrose or dextrose before tissue-damaging procedures (TDPs). Previous work showed that a single dose of sucrose, but not dextrose, increased cellular energy utilization and ATP degradation. This pilot study probes the effects of repeated administration of sucrose or dextrose on energy metabolism. METHODS: Urinary markers of ATP metabolism (hypoxanthine, xanthine, uric acid) are measured in premature neonates randomized to receive: (a) standard of care, (b) 0.2 ml 24% oral sucrose, or (c) 0.2 ml 30% oral dextrose, before every painful procedure on days-of-life 3-7. RESULTS: Standard of care is associated with highest xanthine/creatinine and uric acid/creatinine, likely because of fewer pain treatments. Benefits of repeated oral sucrose are unclear. Neonates receiving oral dextrose had lower xanthine/creatinine and uric acid/creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated treatments of neonatal procedural pain with 30% oral dextrose are less energetically demanding. Larger clinical studies are needed for comparison with sucrose treatments.

Oral dextrose reduced procedural pain without altering cellular ATP metabolism in preterm neonates: a prospective randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of 30% oral dextrose on biochemical markers of pain, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation, and oxidative stress in preterm neonates experiencing a clinically required heel lance. STUDY DESIGN: Utilizing a prospective study design, preterm neonates that met study criteria (n = 169) were randomized to receive either (1) 30% oral dextrose, (2) facilitated tucking, or (3) 30% oral dextrose and facilitated tucking 2 min before heel lance. Plasma markers of ATP degradation (hypoxanthine, uric acid) and oxidative stress (allantoin) were measured before and after the heel lance. Pain was measured using the premature infant pain profile-revised (PIPP-R). RESULTS: Oral dextrose, administered alone or with facilitated tucking, did not alter plasma markers of ATP utilization and oxidative stress. CONCLUSION: A single dose of 30% oral dextrose, given before a clinically required heel lance, decreased signs of pain without increasing ATP utilization and oxidative stress in premature neonates.

Oxidative Stress Biomarker Decreased in Preterm Neonates Treated With Kangaroo Mother Care.

OBJECTIVE: Due to physiological and metabolic immaturity, prematurely born infants are at increased risk because of maternal separation in many neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The stress induced from maternal-infant separation can lead to well-documented short-term physiologic instability and potentially lifelong neurological, sociological, or psychological sequelae. Based on previous studies of kangaroo mother care (KMC) that demonstrated improvement in physiologic parameters, we examined the impact of KMC on physiologic measures of stress (abdominal temperature, heart rate, oxygen saturation, perfusion index, near-infrared spectrometry), oxidative stress, and energy utilization/conservation in preterm infants. METHODS: In this randomized, stratified study of premature neonates, we compared the effects on urinary concentrations of biomarkers of energy utilization and oxidative stress of 1 hr of KMC versus incubator care on Day 3 of life in intervention-group babies (n = 26) and control-group babies (n = 25), respectively. On Day 4, both groups received 1 hr of KMC. Urinary samples were collected 3 hr before and 3 hr after intervention/incubator care on both days. Energy utilization was assessed by measures of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation (i.e., hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid). Oxidative stress was assessed using urinary allantoin. Mixed-models analysis was used to assess differences in purine/allantoin. RESULTS: Mean allantoin levels over Days 3 and 4 were significantly lower in the KMC group than in the control group (p = .026). CONCLUSIONS: Results provide preliminary evidence that KMC reduces neonatal oxidative stress processes and that urinary allantoin could serve as an effective noninvasive marker for future studies.

Neuroprotective Care of Extremely Preterm Infants in the First 72 Hours After Birth.

Birth at extremely low gestational ages presents a significant threat to infants' survival, health, development, and future well-being. After birth, a critical period of brain development must continue outside the womb. Neuro-supportive and neuroprotective family centered developmental care for and standardized care practices for extremely preterm infants have been shown to improve outcomes. Neuroprotective interventions must include a focus on the emotional connections of infants and their families. Being in skin-to-skin contact with the mother is the developmentally expected environment for all mammals and is especially important for supporting physiologic stability and neurodevelopment of preterm infants.

Mapping, Measuring, and Analyzing the Process of Skin-to-Skin Contact and Early Breastfeeding in the First Hour After Birth.

BACKGROUND: Although the benefits of immediate, continuous, uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and early breastfeeding have been widely researched and confirmed, the challenge remains to improve the consistency of this practice. Fewer than half of newborns worldwide are breastfed in the first hour. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study utilizing iterative review and analysis of video ethnography as well as data extracted from patient records. SAMPLE AND SETTING: Eighty-four medically uncomplicated mothers and full-term newborns were observed during the first hour after birth at a Baby-Friendly designated hospital in the United States. FINDINGS: Process mapping using an algorithm which included Robson criteria indicated that although included mothers were expected to give birth vaginally and had no medical concerns that would preclude eligibility for SSC in the first hour after birth, 31 of 84 newborns (37%) did not receive immediate SSC after vaginal birth as planned and only 23 (27.4%) self-attached and suckled. CONCLUSION: Process mapping of optimal skin-to-skin practice in the first hour after birth using the algorithm, HCP-S2S-IA, produced an accurate and useful measurement, illuminating how work is conducted and providing patterns for analysis and opportunities for improvement with targeted interventions.

The Association Between Common Labor Drugs and Suckling When Skin-to-Skin During the First Hour After Birth.

BACKGROUND: Intrapartum drugs, including fentanyl administered via epidural and synthetic oxytocin, have been previously studied in relation to neonatal outcomes, especially breastfeeding, with conflicting results. We examined the normal neonatal behavior of suckling within the first hour after a vaginal birth while in skin-to-skin contact with mother in relation to these commonly used drugs. Suckling in the first hour after birth has been shown in other studies to increase desirable breastfeeding outcomes. METHOD: Prospective comparative design. Sixty-three low-risk mothers self-selected to labor with intrapartum analgesia/anesthesia or not. Video recordings of infants during the first hour after birth while being held skin-to-skin with their mother were coded and analyzed to ascertain whether or not they achieved Stage 8 (suckling) of Widström's 9 Stages of newborn behavior during the first hour after birth. RESULTS: A strong inverse correlation was found between the amount and duration of exposure to epidural fentanyl and the amount of synthetic oxytocin against the likelihood of achieving suckling during the first hour after a vaginal birth. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that intrapartum exposure to the drugs fentanyl and synthetic oxytocin significantly decreased the likelihood of the baby suckling while skin-to-skin with its mother during the first hour after birth.

Oral sucrose for heel lance increases adenosine triphosphate use and oxidative stress in preterm neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of sucrose on pain and biochemical markers of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation and oxidative stress in preterm neonates experiencing a clinically required heel lance. STUDY DESIGN: Preterm neonates that met study criteria (n = 131) were randomized into 3 groups: (1) control; (2) heel lance treated with placebo and non-nutritive sucking; and (3) heel lance treated with sucrose and non-nutritive sucking. Plasma markers of ATP degradation (hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid) and oxidative stress (allantoin) were measured before and after the heel lance. Pain was measured with the Premature Infant Pain Profile. Data were analyzed by the use of repeated-measures ANOVA and Spearman rho. RESULTS: We found significant increases in plasma hypoxanthine and uric acid over time in neonates who received sucrose. We also found a significant negative correlation between pain scores and plasma allantoin concentration in a subgroup of neonates who received sucrose. CONCLUSION: A single dose of oral sucrose, given before heel lance, significantly increased ATP use and oxidative stress in premature neonates. Because neonates are given multiple doses of sucrose per day, randomized trials are needed to examine the effects of repeated sucrose administration on ATP degradation, oxidative stress, and cell injury.

Procedural pain and oxidative stress in premature neonates.

UNLABELLED: Preterm neonates exposed to painful procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit exhibit increased pain scores and alterations in oxygenation and heart rate. It is unclear whether these physiological responses increase the risk of oxidative stress. Using a prospective study design, we examined the relationship between a tissue-damaging procedure (TDP; tape removal during discontinuation of an indwelling central arterial or venous catheter) and oxidative stress in 80 preterm neonates. Oxidative stress was quantified by measuring uric acid (UA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in plasma before and after neonates (n = 38) experienced a TDP compared to those not experiencing any TDP (control group, n = 42). Pain was measured before and during the TDP using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP). We found that pain scores were higher in the TDP group compared to the control group (median scores, 11 and 5, respectively; P < .001). UA significantly decreased over time in control neonates but remained stable in TDP neonates (132.76 to 123.23 µM versus 140.50 to 138.9 µM; P = .002). MDA levels decreased over time in control neonates but increased in TDP neonates (2.07 to 1.81 µM versus 2.07 to 2.21 µM, P = .01). We found significant positive correlations between PIPP scores and MDA. Our data suggest a significant relationship between procedural pain and oxidative stress in preterm neonates. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents data describing a significant relationship between physiological markers of neonatal pain and oxidative stress. The method described in this paper can potentially be used to assess the direct cellular effects of procedural pain as well the effectiveness of interventions performed to decrease pain.

Analgesic effects of breast-feeding or pacifier use with maternal holding in term infants.

OBJECTIVES: First, to compare analgesic effects of breast-feeding versus pacifier use in newborn infants undergoing blood collection via heel sticks. Second, to compare analgesic effects of pacifier use with maternal holding versus nonmaternal holding. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Normal newborn nursery at academic teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Full-term breast-feeding infants scheduled for routine newborn screening blood test via heel stick (n = 96). Interventions.-Infants randomized to 3 groups for analgesia: 1) breast-feeding, 2) pacifier use while held by mothers, 3) pacifier use while held by research assistants (nonmothers). OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was crying (percent of infants who cried during the procedure and mean percent of procedure time that infants cried). Secondary outcomes were physiologic measures. RESULTS: Fewer breast-feeding infants cried than infants using a pacifier while held by nonmothers both during the procedure (69% vs 100%, P < .01) and after the procedure (28% vs 60%, P = .03). Those infants crying during the procedure cried for less time if held by their mothers either breast-feeding (33%, P < .01) or using a pacifier (45%, P = .03) than those using a pacifier while being held by nonmothers (66%). CONCLUSION: Breast-feeding is more analgesic than pacifier use with nonmaternal holding. Maternal holding with either breast-feeding or pacifier use is more analgesic than nonmaternal holding with pacifier use, suggesting that maternal holding itself has an analgesic effect. Breast-feeding and maternal holding should be considered as pain-control measures for the neonate during heel-stick procedures.