Parents of preterm infants registered the amount of time they spent in skin-to-skin contact and holding their infant daily for one week. Skin-to-skin-contact was defined as holding the naked infant in an upright position on the parent's bare chest, wearing only a diaper and covered by a blanket. Holding was described as holding the infant with clothes and/or blankets on, or changing diapers. Following this, parents answered the Touch Experience and Attitude Questionnaire (TEAQ, (Trotter et al., 2018), a self-report measure designed to assess individuals' attitudes toward and experiences with positive touch.
Additionally, parents were asked to rate the perceived pleasantness of two types of touch shown on video: slow caress-like stroking and faster stroking. The slow caress-like stroking represents CT-optimal touch, which is touch delivered at a velocity that optimally activates specific unmyelinated nerve fibers called C-tactile (CT) afferents, typically around 3-5 cm/s. These afferents play a key role in social bonding and emotional regulation. In contrast, the faster stroking represents CT-non-optimal touch, which is delivered at a higher velocity that activates the C-tactile afferents to a lesser extent.
The amount of time parents spent in skin-to-skin contact and holding their preterm infants varied widely. Mothers provided more skin-to-skin contact than fathers. Infants with lower gestational age received more skin-to-skin contact, while infants with higher gestational age was associated with more holding. There were no associations between the duration of skin-to-skin contact or holding and any of the TEAQ scales or perceived pleasantness.
Our findings indicate that parental attitudes toward and experience with touch are not associated with the duration of skin-to-skin contact with the preterm infant. This suggests that interventions targeting factors other than parental attitudes may be more effective in increasing the duration of skin-to-skin contact.
These results will be presented as a poster at the 2025 Spring Seminar of the Norwegian Association of Paediatric Nurses (Barnesykepleierforbundets Vårseminar 2025). A manuscript for publication is currently being prepared.