Aid on Spreadsheets

IMPLEMENTING UNINTERRUPTED SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT BETWEEN MOTHERS AND NEWBORNS IMMEDIATELY AFTER BIRTH IN UGANDA

In Uganda 2% of mothers have uninterrupted skin-to-skin contacts (SSC) with their infant after birth, 83% of infants have hypothermia which is one of the leading causes of mortality in newborns and the rate of exclusively breastfeeding at 1 month is 57%. SSC has positive effects on infant temperature and initiating of breastfeeding. We will study if a simple low-cost intervention that can enhance early initiation and duration of breastfeeding can be implemented. The medical staff and the hospital management will be shown a DVD containing information about newborns´ instinctive behavior and the benefits of SSC and this information will also be spread in pamphlets and posters. A quasi-experimental design will be used with data collections before and after the intervention. 60 mother-infant pairs will be included in each of the 2 data collections. SSC and breastfeeding will be observed and the temperature of the infant will be measured. 1 month after birth the mothers will be interviewed about breastfeeding and interpretation of their infant´s cues. Focus group interviews will be performed with the staff to investigate what they perceive as facilitating factors and barriers to implement SSC. If proven effective the intervention can be implemented in other low resource settings. This is a joint research collaboration originating from a Linneaus-Palme supported student and teacher exchange between the midwifery programmes at Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-29-2014-4329-285-13020

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

D02 - Other technical assistance

% to Uganda

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

The Swedish Research Council

Implementing

Karolinska Institutet

CRS code	%
Reproductive health care (13020)	100.0