Skin-to-Skin Contact Boosts Brain Growth in Very Preterm Infants
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1, 2025 -- Skin-to-skin contact is linked to brain growth in very preterm infants, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in Neurology.
Katherine E. Travis, Ph.D., from Stanford University in California, and colleagues examined the association between in-hospital skin-to-skin care and white matter microstructure in very preterm infants. The analysis included 88 preterm infants born at <32 weeks gestational age who underwent routine predischarge magnetic resonance imaging.
The researchers found that skin-to-skin care duration per instance was positively associated with mean diffusivity in the cingulum (B = 0.002; ΔR2 = 0.080) and anterior thalamic radiations (ATR; B = 0.002; ΔR2 = 0.057). There was also a positive association between skin-to-skin care daily exposure rate and ATR mean diffusivity (B = 0.038; ΔR2 = 0.046). Both skin-to-skin measures had a negative association with ATR fractional anisotropy (duration: B = −0.0005, ΔR2 = 0.046; rate: B = −0.016, ΔR2 = 0.075). Findings persisted when adjusting for socioeconomic status and visitation frequency and after excluding infants with white matter injury.
"Our findings add to growing evidence that white matter development is sensitive to a preterm infant’s experience while in the hospital," Travis said in a statement. "Skin-to-skin care not only provides preterm infants with family connections through bonding, it may also be encouraging new connections within the brain itself, improving a baby’s brain health overall."
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