In plain words
Skin-to-skin contact means holding a newborn, usually undressed except for a diaper and a cap, directly against a parent's bare chest. It usually starts in the delivery room, in the first hour after birth. The baby is dried, covered with a warm blanket, and placed on the chest. Many parents find it calming, and the baby often settles, warms, and begins to turn toward the breast. Research links early, uninterrupted contact with better breastfeeding and steadier temperature, heart rate, and breathing in newborns. Skin-to-skin can happen after a too, once the team and parent are ready. In the NICU it is sometimes called . Parents who cannot start right away can still hold their baby skin to skin later.
The deeper version
Immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth is recommended by WHO, the AAP, ACOG, and the . Trial evidence in healthy term infants, summarized in the Cochrane review by Moore and colleagues (2016), shows higher rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration and better neonatal temperature stability. Proposed mechanisms include thermal regulation, olfactory and tactile cues that guide the newborn's rooting, and maternal hormonal responses. Kangaroo mother care for preterm or low-birth-weight infants is a related practice with its own evidence base. Implementation depends on timing around resuscitation and newborn assessment, and the practice has reshaped delivery room routines.
Where it comes up
- The first 24 hoursBirth and the First Days
- Skin-to-skin and the golden hourGetting Ready for Birth
- Soothing a newbornBaby Basics
What mothers here say about skin-to-skin contact
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Sources
- Moore ER et al. — Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016
- World Health Organization and UNICEF — Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: implementation guidance, 2018