Preterm appropriate for gestational age infants: size at birth explains subsequent growth.

AIM: The aim was to evaluate growth and breastfeeding up to 18 months corrected age (CA) among preterm appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants whose mothers initiated breastfeeding during the infants' hospital stay. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-seven preterm AGA infants with a median birth weight of 2320 (769-3250) g and gestational age 34.29 (25.00-35.86) weeks were evaluated up to a CA of 18 months. A retrospective, descriptive and comparative design was used. Data were obtained by chart review of hospital medical records and a questionnaire completed by the mothers. RESULTS: The changes in standard deviation scores (SDS) during the infants' hospital stay were -0.9 for weight, -0.3 for length and -0.5 for head circumference (HC). Infants with higher SDS at birth showed more negative changes from birth to discharge. Median increments in SDS from discharge to a CA of 2 months were as high as, or higher than, the loss from birth to discharge. CONCLUSION: Preterm AGA infants with higher SDS for weight, length and HC at birth are at higher risk of inadequate growth during their hospital stay.

Skin-to-skin contact of fullterm infants: an explorative study of promoting and hindering factors in two Nordic childbirth settings.

AIM: To explore factors that promote or hinder skin-to-skin contact (SSC) during the first days after birth between parents and healthy fullterm infants. METHODS: A total of 117 postnatal mothers and 107 fathers/partners attending two childbirth settings, where Kangaroo mother care (KMC) was implemented as a standard routine of care, one in Sweden and one in Norway, were recruited consecutively and answered questionnaires two weeks postpartum. RESULTS: Satisfaction with support for SSC in postnatal care and being a mother in the Swedish setting was found to promote SSC during the first day postpartum; previous knowledge about SSC increased the practice also during the 2nd and 3rd days. Receiving visitors apart from partner and siblings emerged as a hindering factor. SSC was known of and practised to a larger extent in the Swedish setting, whereas parents in the Norwegian setting received more visitors and were more satisfied with the received information and support for SSC in postnatal care. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the need for caregivers to give parents adequate support for practising SSC with their newborn healthy fullterm infants and indicate the importance of developing information routines during the antenatal period as well as in relation to the birth of the child, to effectively introduce and implement SSC.