During each
transfer, one nurse managed the infant and the intravenous
(IV) lines, and the other managed the infant’s endotracheal
tube and other monitoring devices. In some cases the parent
lifted the infant while standing by the incubator and
was guided to a chair, and in other cases the nurses carried
the infant to the seated parent. The researchers reported
that the transfer was the most stressful part of the KC procedure,
and that infants tolerated the standing procedure
better than the procedure in which nurses carried the infant
to the seated parent. Only 1 infant continued to require
increased FiO2 levels during the KC procedure. For most
other infants, the nurses were able to reduce the FiO2 level
to at or below the level needed before KC once the infants
were settled on the parent’s chest. Infants less than
1.2 kg tended to become “wriggly” after 15 to 20 minutes
of KC, in contrast to the larger infants (older than
30 weeks PCA) who often slept for 10 to 15 minutes and
then aroused as though they were attempting to visualize
the parent’s face and interact reciprocally.