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This is my hospital's policy on when infants temporarily cannot participate in skin to skin:
A. Infants requiring > 40% FiO2 on a ventilator, SiPAP or CPAP. Key Point: Infant who are stable on nasal cannula may participate in kangaroo care regardless of FiO2.
B. Infants on oxygen hood therapy.
C. Infants who respond poorly to minimal stimulation (examples: drop in blood pressure, frequent apnea or bradycardia or desaturation in response to stimulation).
D. Infants on vasopressors.
E. Any infant that the medical team deems unlikely to tolerate kangaroo care. This should be readdressed on a regular basis, approximately every 24 hrs.
F. Inform parents of signs of overstimulation or restlessness that may indicate the infant’s need to return to the isolette or radiant warmer. Signs of overstimulation include: yawning, frowning or grimacing, flailing of the arms or legs, spreading the fingers apart, crying or fussing, staring or glassy-eyed alertness, averting gaze or suddenly falling asleep, arching the back and neck, bradycardia or desaturation, and a previously calm infant becoming fussy.
G. It is recommended that kangaroo care should be done for at least one hour to allow the infant to complete one full sleep cycle. There is not a time limit to kangaroo care. Some infants may stay in kangaroo care for several hours, while others may need to begin with shorter periods of time and gradually increase that time with increased maturity.
References used in creating our policy:
DiMenna, L. 2006. Consideration for Implementation of a Neonatal Kangaroo Care Protocol. Neonatal Network. Nov-Dec; 25(6): 405-412.
Conde-Agadelo, A, Diaz-Rossello, JL & Belizan, JM. Kangaroo Mother Care to reduce Morbidity and Mortality in Low Birth weight Infants. The Cochrane Library. 2006 (4).
Ludington-Hoe, S. et al. 2003. Safe Criteria and Procedure for Kangaroo Care with intubated preterm infants. J. Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nursing. 32(5): 579-588.
Hardy, W. 2011. Integration of Kangaroo Care into routine caregiving in the NICU. Advances in Neonatal Care. 11(2), 119-121.
Ludington-Hoe, S.M. 2010. Kangaroo Care is Developmental Care. In T. Verklan & J. McGrath (Eds.). Developmental Care of Newborns and Infants. 2nd Edition. Louis: Mosby and National Association of Neonatal Nurses. 245-288.

Hi,
Have not previously sent anything through this link, and it’s not working for me. Reach out to me through email. I know I can send the policy as an attachment and I do not have a problem sharing policies.
We have a policy we’ve been using for 5-6 years now, and we strongly encourage parents to kangaroo, including dads. There was some resistance initially from staff, but now it’s part of everyone’s routine. Hope this is helpful.
Sue
Susan Roberts, RN
Nurse Manager
Infant Intensive Care Unit
215 707 3044
Temple University Hospital
3401 N Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19140
Susan.roberts@tuhs.temple.edu