THE EFFECT OF MOTHER-INFANT SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT ON PLASMA-CORTISOL AND BETA-ENDORPHIN CONCENTRATIONS IN PRETERM NEWBORNS

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of mother-infant skin-t o-skin contact on plasma beta-endorphin and cortisol concentrations in stable, preterm infants on a newborn intensive care unit. Blood sampl es were obtained before and at the end of a 20-min period of skin-to-s kin contact. Similarly paired samples, obtained at the same times and after the same interval, without skin-to-skin contact, were obtained o n another day and served as controls. Both cortisol and beta-endorphin concentrations fell significantly after the skin-to-skin session (cor tisol: geometric mean change 66 %, p = 0.008; beta-endorphin: geometri c mean change 74 %, p = 0.002). There was also a significant fall in c ortisol levels during the control session (geometric mean change 78 %, p = 0.02), in contrast to beta-endorphin levels, in which there was n o significant change. Analysis of variance showed that the fall in bet a-endorphin, but not the fall in cortisol, during the skin-to-skin ses sion was significant when compared with the control sesssion. These re sults emphasize the hormonal responsiveness of the preterm newborn to relatively minor interventions. We conclude that maternal skin-to-skin contact results in a significant reduction in circulating beta-endorp hin in the newborn; there was no evidence of any adverse effect.