Emollient Therapy for Newborn Infants—A Global Perspective

Research on emollient therapy as a strategy to reduce mortality in newborn infants is a global priority. This paper discusses the use of emollients on newborn infants. Since the question is “Should emollients be applied to newborn infants, particularly premature infants?” the focus is on reports that discussed some measure of skin condition such as skin grades, skin effects, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), or impact on infection/mortality. The investigations on the use of emollients for premature infants are reviewed. Consideration is also given to the infant caregiver interactions during the applicaton as the process itself may be important for achieving benefits on skin barrier development and integrity. The remaining questions and subjects of future research are presented.