Since 2011, November 17 has been recognized as the World Prematurity Day in order to give visibility to this problem, raise awareness of the needs and rights of premature babies and their families, sensitize decision makers, health teams and the whole society about the importance of experience and quality care, to advance policies that guarantee the full rights of both babies and families.
Kangaroo mother care is an intervention that enables the mother to assume a central role in her own and her newborn's care, thus ensuring that the lead role remains with the mother and that health workers support and respond to the mother’s and newborn’s needs.
The involvement of fathers/partners and families is important to support mothers in providing Kangaroo Care while in the facility and at home after discharge.
Father and family involvement is especially important when the mother is medically unstable or recovering from surgery.
In the neonatal intensive care unit, parents are not visitors. Families are the true protagonists in the care of their babies
After birth and during the first postnatal year, infants should be put in a supine position (on their backs) in a crib or bassinet to reduce sudden infant death syndrome.
The soles of the feet should be at the end of the crib and the body covered by a blanket or sheet up to the armpits, with the arms on the outside.
In addition, it is suggested that no pillow be placed under the head, as well as no other object next to the baby.
For safe sleep, it is also recommended that no one smoke in the room where children sleep.
Early skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding are two closely linked interventions that should be carried out immediately after birth.
Immediate and prolonged skin-to-skin contact facilitates lactation, enriches the microbiome of newborns, prevents hypothermia and hypoglycemia, and stabilizes respiratory function.
Early suckling at the breast stimulates the activation of milk secretion and transfers colostrum, rich in immunoactive substances, especially important for those born prematurely.
Early skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding are two closely linked interventions that should be carried out immediately after birth.
Immediate and prolonged skin-to-skin contact facilitates lactation, enriches the microbiome of newborns, prevents hypothermia and hypoglycemia, and stabilizes respiratory function.
Early suckling at the breast stimulates lactogenesis II (activation of milk secretion) and transfers colostrum, rich in immunoactive substances, especially important for those born prematurely.
The hospitalization of premature, small and/or sick newborns poses multiple challenges to breastfeeding, including:
In neonatal hospitalization areas, the unrestricted admission of mothers and fathers facilitates close contact with their newborns, the development of bonding and the provision of care for which they will be primarily responsible after discharge.
When a child is born prematurely, some things are important to initiate and sustain the mother’s milk production:
- In the birthing area:
• Immediate, direct and continuous skin-to-skin contact, whenever clinically possible.
• Extraction of colostrum for administration into the newborn’s oropharynx.
The first days after birth, jaundice (yellow color of the skin and mucous membranes) is treated light therapy, also known as phototherapy. Wearing only a diaper, the baby is placed under a device that delivers blue light. This light is the specific therapy because it changes the chemical structure of bilirubin, rendering it easier to eliminate.
If a newborn requires phototherapy because of high blood bilirubin levels, it should be administered in a timely manner to prevent any injury to the central nervous system.