How should preterm babies be handled? What are the controversies regarding the handling of preterm infants?

As with many medical decisions, viewpoints about how to handle preterm babies have changed over time. Early thinking was to handle them as little as necessary. The belief was that preterm infants were not ready for a great deal of stimulation and it was better to understimulate than to overstimulate. Concerns over the need for caregivers to attach and bond to their infants as soon as possible have altered these views.
Current thinking is that close contact and stimulation is good for the preterm infant, just as it is good for the full-term infant. Unless there is something physically wrong with the child that would require oxygen or extended time in an incubator, there appears to be no clear documentation that handling the preterm infant is harmful.