Premature babies benefit from cuddles

My nephew was born nearly nine weeks premature. It was a scary time for the whole family, but, in some ways, we were lucky. He had trouble breathing and had to be on a ventilator for a while. And, when he was able to start eating from a bottle (several weeks after birth), he had trouble swallowing and often choked. But, frightening as that was, his complications could have been much worse. We were able to visit him in the neonatal intensive care unit and hold him almost as often as we wanted. Other babies weren't so fortunate and had to spend almost all of their time in incubators.

A Canadian study revealed that, even for babies born as early as 28 weeks, cuddling is important. The skin-to-skin contact with loved one, particularly parents, provides comfort, reduces the infant's stress, helps them cope with medical procedures, and enhances attachment.

The study followed babies born between 28 and 31 weeks. Researchers performed a heel prick test (a common test for testing blood sugar) on babies that were being actively cuddled and babies that were not being touched. The pain response in those that were being cuddled and reassured was much less and their stress washed away more quickly.


Neonatal intensive care units can be intimidating and scary. My sister is an RN and knew all of the nurses in the unit when my nephew was there. Subsequently, it was probably easier for her to know what was acceptable and when she could be with my nephew. But parents of premature babies should advocate for their right to hold their baby whenever possible.