Positioning preterm infants in the first 72 hours of life – practices, non-autonomic outcomes, and parent and staff perceptions. Zoom presentation hosted by the Research SIG
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Time: This presentation commences
at 7pm AEDT (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra).
Please adjust for daylight savings time in other states/territories.
Title: Positioning preterm infants in the first 72 hours of life –
practices, non-autonomic outcomes, and parent and staff perceptions.
Summary: Positioning is a routine part of neonatal care as rotating preterm infants between supine, prone and lateral
positions aids in musculoskeletal development, stress reduction, and skin protection. For infants <29 weeks gestation, midline head
positioning, sometimes in combination with supine body position, has been integrated into neuroprotective care bundles as part of quality
improvement projects. The aim of this practice is to reduce the risk of intraventricular haemorrhage associated with sudden changes in
cerebral blood flow. The Positioning preterm Infants for Neuroprotection (PIN) study was a pilot RCT that assessed whether it was feasible
to introduce a midline head position and supine body position for infants <29 weeks gestation in the first 72 hours. Hannah’s PhD is
nested within this study. This presentation will discuss her systematic review which looked at the influence of positioning on
non-autonomic outcomes, such as comfort and sleep, her retrospective cohort study which examined what ‘routine’ positioning practices were
for this group of infants prior to the PIN Study, and also discuss some preliminary findings of her parent and staff interviews which
explored their perceptions of positioning in the first 72 hours of life.
Presenter: Hannah Skelton
Hannah Skelton is the Clinical Nurse Consultant for Neonatology in the Western Sydney Local Health District,
based at Westmead NICU. She is also a PhD Candidate in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Hannah’s current
research focuses on the positioning practices of infants, <29 weeks gestation at birth, in the first 72 hours of life. She is also
interested in how to ensure that practice aligns with current practice and optimises outcomes for the neonate, the family and the staff.