Infant and Family-Centered Developmental Care in Newborn Care Units

In the realm of infant neurodevelopment, the role of parental presence and participation in the care of their newborn infant and especially early and continuous skin-to-skin contact (SSC), is globally recognized for its profound benefits in newborn survival and health as well as enhancing parent-infant bonds and bolstering parental well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for SSC, yet the practice faces significant challenges in its adoption due to cultural, educational and organizational barriers. While traditional approaches like Kangaroo Care for stable low birth weight infants have proven beneficial and recently also immediate Kangaroo Care after birth for unstable low birth weight infants, the need for interdisciplinary and multimodal interventions that comprehensively address these challenges are much needed, to initiate SSC immediately after birth and to continue providing SSC in couplet care with the mother from newborn intensive care and onwards.

This Research Topic aims to assess and develop effective strategies that promote parental presence and participation in newborn care as well as immediate and continuous SSC integrated in newborn care. The developmental care approach aims at improved newborn short and long term health. The goal is to facilitate the integration of SSC into routine newborn care by addressing cultural perceptions and attitudes, evaluating the efficacy and practicality of interdisciplinary and multimodal approaches, and advancing healthcare providers' understanding and application of immediate and continuous SSC in various clinical settings.

To gather further insights into integrating SSC into standard newborn care, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Cultural influences and barriers affecting the adoption of SSC in different regions
• Comparative efficacy of traditional and multimodal approaches, including Kangaroo Care
• Educating healthcare providers on SSC practices and its integration into routine newborn care
• Assessment of SSC's impact on infant neurodevelopment and parental mental health
• Strategies for sustainable implementation of SSC in newborn intensive care units and at-home care settings
• Implementation of mother-newborn couplet care in newborn intensive care units, including assessment of impact of immediate and continuous SSC on maternal health outcomes during postpartum period

The Research Topic invites diverse article formats, including Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Reviews, and Clinical Trials, to foster a comprehensive understanding of the role and promotion of parental participation and skin-to-skin contact in newborn care.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Skin-To-Skin Contact, Infant Neurodevelopment, Parental Bonding, Kangaroo Care, Maternal Well-Being, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Cultural Barriers, Healthcare Provider Education, Multimodal Interventions, Implementation Strategies

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.