Facilitating Skin-to-Skin Contact In The Postnatal Period.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) Facilitating Device Used Within a Mother-Infant Dyad: Exploring its Acceptability, Usage and Effect on Health Outcomes in the Postnatal Period.
IRAS ID
209469
Contact name
Roisin Bailey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham City University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
This research will explore a facilitation strategy for mother-baby skin-to-skin contact in the first 6 weeks after birth. Prior research has demonstrated that plentiful skin-to-skin contact can improve neonatal temperature regulation, breastfeeding exclusivity and longevity, and mother-infant bonding. A garment, called a Snuby®, has been developed to support a mother and baby to maintain skin-to-skin contact throughout the postnatal period.
Phase I will involve the participation of ten mother-infant dyads, who will be provided with the garment, written guidance and data collection sheets. Direct researcher observation with field notes will collect data on the ease of usage and correct completion of data collection tools.
Phase II will compare the use of the garment against conventionally facilitated skin-to-skin contact, where mother’s effort or gravity is used to keep the baby in place. The study will randomise consenting healthy pregnant women into equally weighted intervention and control groups, with the intervention group receiving the garment to trial. Data will be collected on demographic details and antenatal skin-to-skin contact intentions. This will be followed up with weekly questionnaires to record infant feeding and skin-to-skin contact practices throughout the six week postnatal period. Participants across both groups will also self-collect and record data on the neonate’s temperature prior to, and following thirty minutes of, skin-to-skin contact. This will provide important information on the garment’s role in neonatal thermoregulation in comparison to otherwise-facilitated skin-to-skin contact. The participants will be invited to focus groups to give more detailed information on their experiences with bonding and breastfeeding.
Phase III will invite midwives working in the NHS Trust to complete an e-questionnaire on their experiences facilitating and support mother-infant skin-to-skin contact in the inpatient setting. Participating midwives will also be invited to a focus group to further discuss the value of the skin-to-skin facilitation strategy.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0033
Date of REC Opinion
3 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion