Ylva Thernström Blomqvist

First-time events between parents and preterm infants are affected by the designs and routines of neonatal intensive care units

Early parental bonding with preterm babies is particularly important, and the aim of our study was to explore when parents experienced what they regarded as important events for the first time while their infant was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Initiation and extent of skin-to-skin care at two Swedish neonatal intensive care units

To describe initiation and extent of parents’ application of skin‐to‐skin care (SSC) with their preterm infants at two Swedish neonatal intensive care units.

Breastfeeding Patterns in Preterm Infants Born at 28-33 Gestational Weeks

Background: Studies of breastfeeding patterns during preterm infants’ first year of life are scarce but are important for providing breastfeeding mothers of preterm infants with optimal support. Objective: This study aimed to describe breastfeeding patterns in preterm infants up to 1 year of corrected age. Methods: As part of a larger study on kangaroo mother care in Sweden, a 24-hour breastfeeding diary was sent home after discharge from hospital, and at 2, 6, and 12 months of the infant’s corrected age. Eighty-three mothers responded to the follow-up questionnaires, and the number of respondents to the breastfeeding diary was 48 at discharge, 43 at 2 months, 22 at 6 months, and 8 at 12 months. Infants were born at a median (range) gestational age of 32 (28-33) weeks. Breastfeeding patterns were analyzed according to durations, frequencies per 24 hours, and intervals between sessions. Results: In exclusively breastfed infants, the median (range) breastfeeding session frequency was 14 (8-26) times per 24 hours including 4 (1-9) times per night after discharge (n = 24) and 10 (6-25) times per 24 hours including 2 (0-5) times per night at 2 months (n = 23). In partially breastfed infants, the median (range) frequency was 5 (1-14) times per 24 hours including 2 (0-4) times per night at 6 months (n = 20) and 5.5 (1-12) times per 24 hours including 2 (0-3) times per night at 12 months (n = 8). Conclusion: Mothers reported large variations in breastfeeding patterns, with higher median breastfeeding session frequencies than previously described in term infants in affluent settings.

Parents experiences of discharge readiness from a Swedish neonatal intensive care unit

The aim of this study was to describe how parents experienced the support at, and preparation for discharge from, the NICU and how they experienced the first time at home.

Parents need support to find ways to optimise their own sleep without seeing their preterm infant's sleeping patterns as a problem

This study described how parents perceived their own sleep, and their infants’, during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and after discharge. It also explored the infants’ sleeping location at home.

Skin-to-skin contact is associated with earlier breastfeeding attainment in preterm infants

This study investigated the effects of skin‐to‐skin contact on breastfeeding attainment, duration and infant growth in preterm infants, as this has not been sufficiently explored.

Effect of skin-to-skin contact on parents’ sleep quality, mood, parent-infant interaction and cortisol concentrations in neonatal care units: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Separation after preterm birth is a major stressor for infants and parents. Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is a method of care suitable to use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to minimise separation between parents and infants. Less separation leads to increased possibilities for parent-infant interaction, provided that the parents’ sleep quality is satisfactory. We aimed to evaluate the effect of continuous SSC on sleep quality and mood in parents of preterm infants born <33 weeks of gestation as well as the quality of parent-infant interaction and salivary cortisol concentrations at the time of discharge. Methods and analysis A randomised intervention study with two arms—intervention versus standard care. Data will be collected from 50 families. Eligible families will be randomly allocated to intervention or standard care when transferred from the intensive care room to the family-room in the NICU. The intervention consists of continuous SSC for four consecutive days and nights in the family-room. Data will be collected every day during the intervention and again at the time of discharge from the hospital. Outcome measures comprise activity tracker (Actigraph); validated self-rated questionnaires concerning sleep, mood and bonding; observed scorings of parental sensitivity and emotional availability and salivary cortisol. Data will be analysed with pairwise, repeated measures, Mann Whitney U-test will be used to compare groups and analysis of variance will be used to adjust for different hospitals and parents’ gender. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by the Regional Research Ethics Board at an appropriate university (2016/89–31). The results will be published in scientific journals. We will also use conferences and social media to disseminate our findings. Trial registration number NCT03004677.