Implementing a Skin-to-Skin Care and Parent Touch Initiative in a Tertiary Cardiac and Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background Skin-to-skin care (SSC) has been integrated as an essential component of developmental care for preterm infants. Despite documented benefits, SSC is not routinely practiced in the cardiac and surgical neonatal intensive care unit, with a predominantly term population, due to staff apprehension, patient factors and acuity, and environmental constraints. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase SSC, parental holds, and parent touch events for infants in our cardiac and surgical neonatal intensive care unit. When traditional SSC was not possible, alternative holds and alternative parent touch (APT) methods were encouraged. Methods: Quality improvement and qualitative descriptive methodology were utilized to assess baseline, develop education and practice changes, and evaluate the use of SSC, holds, and APT methods at 12 and 18 months postintervention. Implementation included educational tools and resource development, simulations, peer champions, in-class teaching, and team huddles. Decisions around the type of hold and parent touch were fluid and reflected complex infant, family, staff, and physical space needs. Findings: Given its initial scarcity, there was an increased frequency of SSC and variety of holds or APT events. Staff survey results indicated support for the practice and outlined persistent barriers. Implications for Practice: Skin-to-skin care, holds, and APT practices are feasible and safe for term and preterm infants receiving highly instrumented and complex cardiac and surgical care. Implications for Research: Future research regarding the intervention's impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants and on parent resilience in the surgical and cardiac neonatal intensive care unit is warranted.