The findings of a review of research conducted in India and published in the BMJ Global Health Journal reported that a form of care involving skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her prematurely delivered infant might dramatically increase the childs chances of survival.

The study discovered that the intervention appeared to be much more beneficial in lowering mortality and infection when it started within 24 hours of delivery and continued for at least eight hours daily.

The World Health Organization advises "kangaroo mother care" (KMC) as the recommended level of care after a low birth weight infants condition has stabilized clinically. However, still, it needs to be clarified what the best strategy is.

The study evaluated 31 trials, including 15,559 newborns. It revealed that KMC appears to lower mortality risk by 32% either during labor and delivery in a hospital or by 28 days following delivery while also lowering the risk of severe infection by 15%. The mortality benefits were larger when the daily KMC length was at least eight hours, as opposed to KMC of a lower duration. 

The reviews authors stated that there was generally little to no risk of bias in the included studies and that there was moderate to strong confidence in the strength of the evidence supporting the primary outcomes.

 (Source:https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/close-contact-between-mother-and-premature-baby-may-boost-infants-survival-study-514705)