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Cardiology Summit 2019 Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Therapeutics | Volume 3
Page 20
OF EXCELLENCE
IN INTERNATIONAL
MEETINGS
YEARS
March 25-26, 2019 | Amsterdam, Netherlands
CARDIOLOGY
AND CARDIAC NURSING
3rd World Congress on
SAFE PRACTICE – A PATIENT CENTRED
INITIATIVE IN AUSTRALIA TO PROMOTE
SKIN-TO-SKIN IN THE EARLY HOURS
AFTER BIRTH. FROM PILOT TO PRACTICE
Skin to skin or ‘Kangaroo Care’ (KC) soon after birth is a well-established prac-
tice in Australia with many benefits like mother-baby bonding, thermoregu-
lation and promoting breast feeding. While majority of newborns tolerate it well,
some may become compromised with serious consequences. Supervision for KC
in the first few hours after birth is crucial time for both mother and her baby but
also poses challenges to workload of midwifery staff in a busy birthing suite. A
prior audit from our centre revealed only 21% compliance with paper-based ob-
servation chart for newborns in the immediate postpartumperiod.The objective
of this study was to improve vigilance for newborns receiving KC soon after birth.
Methods: This quality assurance activity (SAFE- Saturation Assessment for Early
Hours) was undertaken in a maternity unit of tertiary hospital. All babies receiv-
ing KC had continuous pulse oximetery monitoring after birth for the first hour.
A cross sectional survey was performed to collate feedback frommidwifery staff
and the mothers. Data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively.
Results: Response rate to survey was 80% for midwifery staff and 71% for moth-
ers. Most midwifery staff received the practice positively and felt more reassured
about the baby’s status.The survey identified gaps inmaternal knowledge about
risks and benefits of KC. Overwhelming majority of staff recommended institut-
ing this practice at other centres.
Conclusion: Continuous pulse oximetery in the first hour is a simple non-inva-
sive and innovative approach to improve vigilance for all newborns receiving
skin to skin care soon after birth. The success of this initiative lead to the imple-
mentation of two hours of continuous pulse oximetry momitoring for all babies
at our institution.
Jean Du Plessis, J Cardiovasc Med Ther 2019, Volume 3
Jean Du Plessis is the Head of Service of Neona-
tology at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Western
Australia. He is also an adjunct associate pro-
fessor at University of Notre Dame, Fremantle.
In addition to long standing clinical career, he
also possesses excellent administrative and dip-
lomatic skills and has track record of successful
delivery of high quality patient care to the popu-
lation of South Perth. Du Plessis has been closely
involved with University of Western Australia.
He is current investigator of various clinical trials
running in the neonatal unit. His research inter-
ests include innovations to improve neonatal
health care.
Jean Du Plessis
Fiona Stanley Hospital and University of Notre Dame, Australia
BIOGRAPHY