In plain words
The Widström nine stages describe how a newborn often behaves in the first hour after birth when she is placed on her mother's chest. The stages include the birth cry, relaxation, awakening, activity, rest, crawling toward the breast, getting to know the breast, suckling, and sleep. Not every baby goes through every stage, and the timing varies. The model is used to show how a calm, uninterrupted first hour can help a baby find the breast. It is a description of behavior, not a test. Your birth team can tell you what they are watching for during that hour.
The deeper version
Widström and colleagues described a sequence of nine behavioral stages in healthy term newborns placed prone or supine on the mother's abdomen after birth, based on observational studies in Swedish cohorts, with the stages intended to support early breastfeeding initiation. The model has been used in teaching and in research on skin-to-skin contact. Evidence that following the stage sequence improves breastfeeding outcomes is limited to observational and quasi-experimental studies, and the Cochrane review of early skin-to-skin contact (Moore et al., 2016) provides the stronger evidence base.
Where it comes up
- Skin-to-skin and the golden hourGetting Ready for Birth
- The first 24 hoursBirth and the First Days
- Getting a deep latchFeeding Your Baby
- Colostrum and the first days before milk comes inFeeding Your Baby
What mothers here say about Widström nine stages
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Sources
- Widström AM, Lilja G, Aaltomaa-Michalias P, et al. — Newborn behaviour to locate the breast when skin-to-skin: a possible method for enabling early self-regulation. Acta Paediatrica 2011
- Moore ER et al. — Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016