Aegean scientist Prof. Dr. An important project for mother-child health from Rabia Genç
Ege University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Midwifery faculty member Prof. Dr. The project titled “Development of Skin-to-Skin Contact and Kangaroo Care Practice Guide for Newborns: The Case of Turkey” led by Rabia Genç was entitled to receive support from TÜBİTAK.
Ege University Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Budak said, “Our fully accredited research university, which aims to protect and develop individual and public health with its well-established and qualified health units, leads important projects for maternal and child health within the scope of its community service mission. Faculty of Health Sciences faculty member Prof. Dr. The project, which was prepared under the leadership of our teacher Rabia Genç, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and different universities in order to ensure a certain standard in skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care practices and to develop a clinical practice guide, was found suitable to be supported by TÜBİTAK. Carrying out studies with the aim of achieving unity of practice in our country on skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care, which is extremely important for the development and strengthening of the mother-baby bond, Prof. Dr. I congratulate Rabia Genç and her team.”
Giving information about the details of the study, Prof. Dr. Rabia Genç said, “Skin-to-skin contact is a practice with vital benefits that starts right after birth and continues until the first hour or the first breastfeeding, by placing the newborn on the mother’s bare stomach or breast without dressing. Skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care have been practiced in many countries for nearly 40 years. However, the lack of an application standard limits the benefits of skin-to-skin contact. For this reason, the World Health Organization published a guideline on skin-to-skin contact in 2017, stating that skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby should be initiated as early as possible after birth in order to support and maintain breastfeeding, and recommended that this guide be implemented by evaluating it according to the conditions of the countries. Although skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care are occasionally applied in hospitals in our country, there is no standard clinical practice guide for skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care. The absence of a standard guide may lead to differences in practice and, as a result, the insufficient success expected from skin-to-skin contact application.
“We aim to apply it to all healthy newborns in our country”
prof. Dr. Rabia Genç said, “With this project, it is aimed to develop and implement a clinical practice guide for skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care in order to provide a standard for skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care for newborns in delivery rooms and postpartum services in our country. Our project team has cooperation with both the Ministry of Health and different universities. Our project titled ‘Development of Skin-to-Skin Contact and Kangaroo Care Practice Guide in Newborns: The Case of Turkey’ received support within the scope of Tübitak 1001. In the first leg of our project, the application guide developed by our project team in accordance with the literature and the conditions of our country was presented to expert opinions and necessary corrections were made. To test the clinical use of the guide we developed; A workshop was held by inviting midwives or nurses working in delivery rooms and postpartum services of hospitals with high birth rates in seven regions of Turkey. In the workshop, the information transfer about the guide to the participants was shown theoretically and practically. Institutional visits of our project team continue to evaluate practices in hospitals. When our project is completed, we aim to apply this application, which has no cost but has high benefits in terms of maternal and newborn health, to all healthy newborns in our country.
In the project, Prof. from the Department of Midwifery of the Faculty of Health Sciences of EU. Dr. Esin Ceber Turfan, Prof. Dr. Birsen Karaca Saydam, Dr. Lecturer Aysun Ekşioğlu, from Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Dr. Faculty Member Emine Serap Çağan from Mersin University İçel School of Health. Lecturer Sevil Güner and Head of Child Adolescent Department of the Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Public Health, Dr. Başak Tezel is also present.
Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency
