Skin-to-skin contact

Research on skin-to-skin contact after birth looks at what happens when a newborn is placed on the parent's bare chest. A review examines early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and healthy newborns, and other papers discuss implications for clinical practice and the development of a research and practice guideline. Studies examine breastfeeding initiation and duration, placental separation time, infant growth and development, and prevention of neonatal hypoglycaemia.

Several papers look at particular groups. One trial examines duration of skin-to-skin contact after cesarean delivery, and a secondary analysis looks at skin-to-skin contact for very preterm infants and the quality of mother-infant interaction months later. A guidance document addresses reducing the risk of sudden and unexpected postnatal collapse, which concerns safe positioning and observation during contact.

Parents often ask when contact can begin, how long it lasts, whether it can happen after a cesarean and whether partners can take part. The research continues to look at timing, duration and different settings.

An educator may want slides that describe what skin-to-skin contact is, who has been studied and why observation matters. The papers listed below are the ones the Hub tracks on this topic.