Safety and feasibility of delivery room cuddles in infants with surgical defects: A quality improvement project

Abstract

Background: Delivery Room Cuddles (DRC) is a growing practice with recognized benefits for parent-infant bonding, breastfeeding rates, and infant stress responses. Methods: We introduced DRC at St. Mary’s NICU, Manchester, in October 2020. As part of a formal QI process, we have been continuously collecting data on all babies admitted to our NICU from the delivery suite to review rates of DRC and monitor for any beneficial effects / adverse events. From October 2020 to May 2021, we admitted 41 babies with known surgical defects; 56% of whom had a DRC, including intubated babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernias, and babies with open surgical defects. Results: There have been no adverse incidents directly related to DRC and more babies who had a DRC received breast milk than those who did not Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that DRC can be implemented safely in surgical babies.

Keywords

• Neonatal surgery
• Delivery room cuddles
• Quality improvement project
• Congenital surgical defects