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  • Letter to the Editor
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Making the first days of life safer: time for a new protocol?

Journal of Perinatology volume 34, page 957 (2014)Cite this article

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We read with interest the paper by Thach1 published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Perinatology, reporting on 15 deaths and 3 near deaths of newborns while bed-sharing with mothers on maternity wards.

The results of this paper contribute to the concern, raised by previous reports, about the safety of skin-to-skin contact and bed-sharing in the first hours of life, despite their known beneficial effects on mother–infant relationship and breastfeeding.2 We believe that time has come to translate these concerns into practice.

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References

  1. Thach BT . Deaths and near deaths of healthy newborn infants while bed sharing on maternity wards. J Perinatol 2014; 34: 275–279.

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  2. Dageville C, Pignol J, De Smet S . Very early neonatal apparent life-threatening events and sudden unexpected deaths: incidence and risk factors. Acta Paediatr 2008; 97: 866–869.

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  3. Ministry of Health. New Zeland. Observation of mother and baby in the immediate postnatal period: Consensus statements guiding practice. July 2012, http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/maternity-services/national-maternity-clinical-guidance/observation-mother-and-baby-immediate-postnatal-period-consensus-statements-guiding-practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS ‘Burlo Garofolo’, Trieste, Italy

    G Paviotti, S Demarini, A De Cunto & R Davanzo

  2. Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS ‘Burlo Garofolo’, Trieste, Italy

    G Verardi

Authors
  1. G Paviotti
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  2. S Demarini
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  3. G Verardi
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  4. A De Cunto
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  5. R Davanzo
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Correspondence to G Paviotti.

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Paviotti, G., Demarini, S., Verardi, G. et al. Making the first days of life safer: time for a new protocol?. J Perinatol 34, 957 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.150

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.150

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