Skin-To-Skin Contact Key For Premature Baby Survival: WHO Changes Policy

The new guidelines mark a major turnaround in the way the UN health agency recommends neonatal intensive care be provided to tiny babies.

Skin-to-skin contact is key to improving survival of premature and small babies, the WHO said on Tuesday in a major overhaul of policy that previously called for the use of incubators.

The new guidelines mark a major turnaround in the way the UN health agency recommends neonatal intensive care be provided to tiny babies.

Allowing mothers or other caregivers and preterm babies to remain close from the start, without separation, boosts the chances of survival, Karen Edmond, a World Health Organization medical officer and paediatrician, told reporters in Geneva.

"The first embrace with a parent is not only emotionally important, but also absolutely critical for improving chances of survival and health outcomes for small and premature babies," she said.