Observational studyPediatric research2023
Early skin-to-skin contact and risk of late-onset-sepsis in very and extremely preterm infants.
Observational study in Pediatric research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Facilitators and challenges in the practice of skin-to-skin contact after birth: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Parents of Premature Infants Value Early Skin-to-Skin Care: A 10-Year Survey in France.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2026Article
- Skin-to-skin contact in neonatal intensive care units: a narrative review of implementation challenges and strategies within infant- and family-centered care.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Early Skin-to-Skin Contact in Preterm Infants: Is It Safe? An Italian Experience.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 19 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTo evaluate the association between exposure to early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and incidence of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in extremely and very preterm infants.
methodsObservational study using the national population-based EPIPAGE-2 cohort in 2011. A propensity score for SSC exposure was used to match infants with and without exposure to SSC before day 4 of life and binomial log regression used to estimate risk ratios and CIs in the matched cohort. The primary outcome was at least one episode of LOS during hospitalization. Secondary outcomes were the occurrence of any late-onset neonatal infection (LONI), LOS with Staphylococcus or Staphylococcus aureus, incidence of LOS and LONI per 1000 central venous catheter days.
resultsAmong the 3422 included infants, 919 were exposed to early SSC. The risk ratio (RR) for LOS was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.67-1.10), for LONI was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.83-1.21), and for LOS with Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus or Staphylococcus aureus infection was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.68-1.21) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.31-1.87). The incidence RR for LOS per-catheter day was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.64-1.18).
conclusionEarly SSC exposure was not associated with LOS or LONI risk. Thus, their prevention should not be a barrier to a wider use of SSC. IMPACT: Kangaroo Mother Care decreased neonatal infection rates in middle-income countries. Skin-to-skin contact is beneficial for vulnerable preterm infants but barriers exist to its implementation. In a large population-based study using a propensity score methods, we found that skin-to-skin contact before day 4 of life was not associated with a decreased risk of late-onset-sepsis in very and extremely preterm infants. Early skin-to-skin contact was not associated with an increased risk of any late-onset-neonatal-infection, in particular with staphylococcus. The fear of neonatal infection should not be a barrier to a wider use of early skin-to-skin contact in this population.
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