Cerebral Blood Flow Indices During Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact in Healthy Term Neonates: A Prospective Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) started immediately after birth on cerebral blood flow (CBF) using middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler and vital parameters in stable-term infants.

METHODS

Clinically stable term newborns delivered through normal vaginal deliveries who only required routine care were included in this observational study through convenience sampling. Newborns with any congenital malformation or multiple gestation were excluded. Heart rate, oxygen saturation and CBF parameters of MCA [Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), mean velocity (MV), pulsatility index (PI) and resistive Index (RI)] were measured using transcranial Doppler sonography at 5, 20, 40, 60 minutes of SSC.

RESULTS

The mean (SD) gestational age was 38.4 (0.97) weeks. The mean CBF parameters of MCA Doppler viz., PSV, EDV, MV, and RI improved significantly at 60 min of SSC contact compared to baseline values except PI. Similarly, the physiological parameters viz; temperature, heart rate, and SPO2 showed significant improvement at 60 min of SSC care from baseline.

CONCLUSION

SSC improves cerebral hemodynamics in hemodynamically stable term neonates.