The effect of skin-to-skin care on postpartum depression among mothers of preterm or low birthweight infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2019-06, Vol.253, p.376-384
• Main Authors: Scime, Natalie V., Gavarkovs, Adam G., Chaput, Katie H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abbreviations: PPD, postpartum depression; Adult; Birth Weight; Depression, Postpartum - prevention & control; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; LBW, low birthweight; Low birth weight infant; Mothers - psychology; Neonatal intensive care unit; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; Postpartum depression; Preterm infant; Prospective Studies; Skin; Skin-to-skin care
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.101

•Mothers with preterm or LBW infants face a heightened risk of PPD.•Regular physical contact with infants via skin-to-skin care may protect against PPD.•Relevant studies vary in terms of intervention characteristics and PPD measurement.•Skin-to-skin has a small protective effect on PPD scores, but heterogeneity was high. Mothers of preterm or low birthweight (LBW) infants are at two to three times greater risk of postpartum depression (PPD) than mothers of healthy infants, which may be partially due to mother–infant separation during hospitalization. Skin-to-skin care could protect against PPD among these vulnerable mothers. We examined the effect of skin-to-skin care on PPD among mothers of preterm or LBW infants through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched six peer-reviewed databases for prospective studies of skin-to-skin interventions that took place in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), used a validated PPD tool, and were published in English between 1979 and 2017. Data were standardized and pooled using Hedges method in a quality-weighted meta-analysis. Eight studies detailing seven interventions met inclusion criteria. Intervention characteristics varied with duration ranging from one week to over two months, skin-to-skin sessions ranging from 15 min to 1 h, and frequency ranging from thrice daily to thrice weekly. Five PPD tools were used predominantly as continuous measures. Meta-analysis demonstrated that skin-to-skin interventions were associated with a 1.04% reduction in standardized depression scores versus standard care (p