Autonomic Nervous System Function After a Skin-to-Skin Contact Intervention in Infants With Congenital Heart Disease.

The analysed sample was only 10 infants, so the study cannot show whether skin-to-skin contact changed autonomic function. There was no control group, so changes over time could reflect maturation, recovery from surgery, feeding, medications, or other hospital experiences. The study used a convenience sample from 2 hospitals and excluded infants with non-cardiac congenital defects or syndromes, exclusive nasogastric feedings after surgery, or ongoing cardiac pacing, so results may not apply to more complex or unstable infants. Attrition was substantial: 2 infants died before the intervention, 2 were too sick to complete it, and 4 families withdrew after discharge. The significance threshold was set at 0.1 because the study was exploratory, so apparent effects are less certain. No staff nurses completed the planned interviews, so the effect on nursing workflow was not formally measured.

Do not conclude that skin-to-skin contact improved autonomic function or reduced risk. The primary non-linear measure did not change, only 10 infants were analysed, and there was no comparison group.