Mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact in sub-Saharan Africa: prevalence and predictors

Abstract

IntroductionSkin-to-skin contact is an evidence-based intervention that signifies a situation whereby a newborn is positioned directly on the mother’s abdomen or chest in order for them to have direct ventral-to-ventral skin contact. The act of skin-to-skin contact begins immediately after delivery to about 23 hours afterwards. Evidence shows that skin-to-skin contact is important in improving child health outcomes. Nevertheless, evidence on its prevalence and predictors in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains sparse. The study, therefore, estimated the prevalence of skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their newborns, as well as its predictors.MethodsUsing data from the recent Demographic and Health Survey conducted between 2015 and 2020 from 17 countries in SSA, we included 131 094 women who gave birth in the last 5 years preceding the survey in the final analysis. We used percentages to summarise the prevalence of skin-to-skin contact. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of skin-to-skin contact. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to present the results of the regression analysis.ResultsApproximately 42% (41.7 to 42.2) of mothers practiced newborn skin-skin contact. The highest prevalence was found in Benin (75.1% (74.1 to 76.0)) and the lowest prevalence in Nigeria (11.7% (11.2 to 12.1)). The likelihood of skin-to-skin contact was higher among women covered by health insurance, those who delivered in health facilities, those in the richest wealth index, women who attended 1–3 antenatal care (ANC) visits and four or more ANC visits, and those with secondary or higher education. The odds of skin-to-skin contact was low among women who delivered by caesarean section (adjusted OR=0.15; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.16).ConclusionConsidering that less than half of the surveyed women practiced skin-to-skin contact, it is expedient for intensification of advocacy and strict supervision of the practice within the included countries. Informal educational programmes can also be rolled out through various media platforms to sensitise the public and healthcare providers on the need for skin-to-skin contact. These will help maximise the full benefits of skin-to-skin contact and expedite prospects of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.1 and 3.2.

A descriptive analysis of the coverage of newborn care services among women who delivered in health facilities in 17 sub-Saharan African countries

“…Only weight taking at birth and assessing the child’s health at discharge had higher coverage rates among the interventions. It is important to note, however, that the current study’s coverage of early breastfeeding initiation and immediate skin-to-skin contact is higher than previously reported [ 25 , 26 ]. We also found that coverage of five interventions: early breastfeeding initiation within 1 h after birth, immediate skin-to-skin contact, cord examination, temperature taking, and checking the child’s health before discharge differed substantially by provider type.…”

“…Similarly, it was observed that women exhibited decreased likelihood to commence skin-to-skin contact and initiate early breastfeeding when their neonates presented with an Apgar score of less than seven at one minute post-delivery [ 33 ]. Low birthweight infants, on the other hand, were more likely to engage in immediate skin-to-skin contact with their mothers than babies born with a normal birthweight [ 25 ]. Furthermore, it was observed that singleton births were associated with a higher likelihood of initiating early breastfeeding compared to multiple births or twin deliveries [ 34 ].…”

Sociocultural context of exclusive breastfeeding in Africa: A narrative review

“…Early initiation of BF has been shown to promote EBF, 42 while the long‐time duration for initiation of BF implies that a prelacteal food must have been introduced 54 . Mother and newborns skin‐to‐skin contact have been found to positively influence the timely initiation of BF in various countries, including Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe 58 . Mothers who initiated BF within 1 h of giving birth, and practised skin‐to‐skin contact, tend to practice EBF 33,58 .…”

“…54 Mother and newborns skin‐to‐skin contact have been found to positively influence the timely initiation of BF in various countries, including Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 58 Mothers who initiated BF within 1 h of giving birth, and practised skin‐to‐skin contact, tend to practice EBF. 33 , 58 However, late initiation of BF was common among those who did not utilize healthcare services and those with lower incomes.…”

Effect of Family Integrated Care on maternal stress in preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A bi‐center experience

“…Growing number of researchers have been focusing on exploring new care models in NICU to reduce the negative influence of maternal separation(Aboagye et al, 2022; McKenzie et al, 2022; Taylor et al, 2022). Family integrated care (FICare) is an upgraded family centered care model for preterm infants in NICU by integrating parents into the NICU care team as primary caregivers during infants' hospital stay (Franck et al, 2020).…”