At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was unclear which newborn care approaches would best improve the health and well-being of mother-infant dyads after birth while decreasing COVID-19 transmission. For a study, researchers sought to investigate differences in COVID-19 infant care practices across U.S. birth hospitals and differences in hospital characteristics (U.S. census region, highest level of neonatal level of care, and Baby-Friendly hospital status). Between 5/26/2020 and 6/8/2020, investigators polled physicians via the American Academy of Pediatrics email listservs and social media. The birth hospital where the physicians offered infant care and their facility’s approach to obstetrical and neonatal care was linked to COVID-19. Variations in hospital practices by U.S. census region, the highest level of neonatal care, and Baby-Friendly hospital status were investigated using chi-square testing. About 433 physicians from 318 hospitals in 46 states answered. Approaches to newborn care (31% separation, 17% rooming-in, and 51% based on shared-decision making), early skin-to-skin maintenance (48% prohibited/discouraged, 11% encouraged, and 40% based on shared-decision making), and direct breastfeeding (37% prohibited/discouraged, 15% encouraged, and 48% based on shared-decision making) differed the most in SARS-CoV-2 positive mother-infant dya was most significant for approaches to the location of newborn care. At least some mother-infant dyads were discharged early from 59% of hospitals among presumed uninfected dyads. Study groupdiscovered that practices differed by census region in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, different approaches to newborn care and breastfeeding assistance for mother-infant dyads with positive SARS-CoV-2 testing were used in various U.S. maternity facilities. It was usual for assumed uninfected mother-infant dyads to be discharged early.
Source:bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-022-03129-0
