As you read below the results of the subject study, keep in mind that The Zaky ZAK is designed to assist with holding the weight and posture during skin to skin, while The Zaky HUG can be a neckroll for the parent while it is scented and warmed by the parent to leave with the baby at the end of the session. Holding a baby is the most incredible experience and The Zaky is ergonomically designed to prevent parents' aches, boredom, anxiety and tiredness. Contact info@thezaky.com for more info.
Publication: Anderzen-Carlsson, A., Lamy, Z. C., & Eriksson, M. (2014). Parental experiences of providing skin-to-skin care to their newborn infant - Part 1: A qualitative systematic review. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 9(1). doi: 10.3402/qhw.v9.24906.
Skin-to-Skin Care of a Newborn Infant
The main objective of the article was to describe the parental experience that results from providing skin-to-skin care (SSC) to their infants. Skin-to-skin care for infants has shown to have a positive physiological and psychological advantages to both the infant and parents. SSC care began as a kangaroo mother care (KMC) in the Colombian hospitals due to the shortage of incubators to evade cross-infections resulting from sharing the few available incubators in the neonatal units (Anderzen-Carlsson, Lamy, & Eriksson, 2014). The other objective of KMC care to encourage close contact between a parent and the infant to prevent abandonment of the infants and also humanizing neonatal care. The newborn infant is only dressed in diapers and then lied in an upright position on the mother’s bare chest for either long or short periods. SSC care has been proven to have positive impacts on parental stress and also increase the mother-infant bond hence helping in the infant growth and development.
The results of the study conducted in this article showed that SSC care had a restorative experience for the parent. The parent also experienced a good feeling that encompassed a heartwarming feeling. The first instance of SSC care for the parent had an overwhelming experience of love to the infant. The SSC care also gave the parent a feeling of relieve of emotional suffering as they could feel their innermost emotions (Anderzen-Carlsson et al., 2014). Since the baby are usually born prematurely or underweight, seeing them strong on the mother's chest relieved pain to the mothers of the infant’s present condition. The SSC care also had a rewarding and a learning experience to the mothers for meeting the parent’s need of affection to their infant. The SSC care is important for the infant as shown by the research from the article as they could recover from problems associated with premature birth or underweight.
However, the study showed that they were several shortcomings of SSC care such as an emotional burden to the parent. A majority of the parents complained of backaches, experienced anxiety and tiredness (Anderzen-Carlsson et al., 2014). There was also the issue of doubt about an individual’s skill in giving SSC care to the infant and the fear of hurting the baby when providing the care. By extension, the parents tend to neglect other family members by staying in hospitals to provide SSC care to their newborn infants.
In conclusion, the article added knowledge concerning the topic of parental experiences in providing SSC care to infants who are born either prematurely or underweight. It researched the physiological and psychosocial effects of parents and infants and offered more information on the importance of SSC care for both the infant and the baby. The knowledge and information gained from the research can be used to better understand the process of neonatal care.