Skin-to-Skin Contact

Skin-to-skin contact provides benefits beyond warmth, including physiological, developmental and maternal advantages reported in existing literature. Skin-to-skin contact is defined as placing the naked newborn prone on the mother’s bare chest immediately after birth and continuing contact for at least one hour or until the first successful breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin contact supports maternal-neonatal temperature synchrony and lowers hypothermia risk. The WHO Early Essential Newborn Care guidelines recommend immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth to help prevent hypothermia and related complications.