Early essential newborn care for late preterm and term infants delivered by cesarean section: a randomized controlled trial on neonatal hypoglycemia and breastfeeding.
Jie Liu, Wen-Jun Ji, Zhi-Tong Qu et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled trial evaluated Early Essential Newborn Care (immediate skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding) versus standard care in late preterm and term infants born by cesarean section. EENC was associated with higher blood glucose at 1, 3, and 6 hours after birth and a lower risk of neonatal hypoglycemia (RR = 0.88, [95%CI: 0.80, 0.96]). Mothers also had earlier onset of lactogenesis II and higher exclusive breastfeeding rates at discharge. Sensitivity analyses showed consistent directions for the primary glycemic and breastfeeding outcomes.
Key findings
- Blood glucose was higher with EENC at 1 h (aMD = 11.56 mg/dL [95%CI: 8.85, 14.27]), 3 h (aMD = 9.06 mg/dL [95%CI: 7.08, 11.04]), and 6 h (aMD = 6.83 mg/dL [95%CI: 5.31, 8.36]).
- Hypoglycemia risk was lower in the EENC group (RR = 0.88, [95%CI: 0.80, 0.96], p = 0.006).
- Onset of lactogenesis II was earlier with EENC (aMD=-8.82 h [95%CI: -10.23, -7.41], p < 0.001).
- Exclusive breastfeeding was more frequent with EENC (RR = 1.31 [95% CI: 1.02, 1.26], p = 0.022).
Why it matters
Cesarean-born late preterm and term infants may benefit from immediate skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding, with trial findings indicating improved early glucose measures and breastfeeding outcomes compared with standard care. These outcomes are relevant to newborn transition and feeding support, although the results apply to the population and care comparison studied.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not report the sample size or follow-up beyond discharge, limiting assessment of precision and longer-term outcomes.