Skin-to-skin contact helps regulate an infant's body temperature, boost their immune system, and relieve postpartum depression in mothers. Credit: ER Productions Limited via Getty Images

For infants struggling in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU, incubators dramatically lower premature infant mortality. However, these neonatal-specific incubators create their own challenges for skin-to-skin contact. This kind of touch is more than an emotional moment for a family—it helps regulate the baby’s body temperature, stimulates their immune system, encourages breastfeeding, and even reduces issues of postpartum depression .

The World Health Organization recommends every infant born before 37 weeks old receive at least eight hours of contact every day. Incubators make reaching this goal practically impossible, but that doesn’t negate the equipment’s own medical benefits.…