The effect of skin-to-skin contact of mother and newborns on breastfeeding status in full-term newborns after cesarean delivery

Upon skin-to-skin contact with the mother, newborns immediately seek their mother's breast and start sucking without help. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of skin-to-skin contact on breast feeding status in full term cesarean section newborns.

In this randomized clinical trial conducted by convenience sampling, 90 pairs of mothers and cesarean section infants were selected and randomly assigned to skin-to-skin (case group; n=46) and routine care (control group; n=44). In the case group, the mother and newborn were transferred to the ward after cesarean section, and the naked infants in diapers were positioned between their mother’s breasts in a prone position for 1 hour. In the control group, the infant was dressed and put in the cot and later embraced by their mothers to be breastfed according to hospital routine care. During one hour of skin-to-skin contact, the mothers in the two groups were educated in breastfeeding. After one hour, the status of breastfeeding was assessed by the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (IBAT). The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 17) using descriptive statistics including frequencies, means, standard deviations, independent t tests, and Chi-square.

The chi-square test showed significant difference between full term infants’ breastfeeding status in skin-to-skin group and the control group in terms of readiness to breastfeed (p=0.021) and sucking (p=0.03) Concerning latching Concerning latching. Furthermore, the means of breastfeeding assessment total score showed a significant difference in the skin-to-skin group (8.76±3.63) and in the routine care group (7.25±3.5) (p=0.048).

Skin-to-skin contact of the mother and the newborn for one hour after cesarean delivery can enhance infant’s breastfeeding success.