Early Skin-to-Skin Contact for Mothers and Their Healthy Newborn Infants

A Cochrane review (abstract [Abstract], review [Abstract]) included 38 studies with a total of 3 472 participants (mother-infant dyads). There was statistically significant and positive effects of early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) on breastfeeding at one to four months postbirth (RR 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07 to 1.43; 14 trials, n=887) and breastfeeding duration (mean difference 64 days, 95% 37.96 to 89.50; 6 trials, n=264). SSC women were more likely to exclusively breast feed from hospital discharge to 1 month and from 6 weeks to 6 months (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.49; 6 trials, n=711; I² = 44% and RR 1.50, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.90; 7 trials, n=640; I² = 62%, respectively).

A meta-analysis 2 included 8 trials with a total of 1009 participants. The effects of mother-infant SSC on exclusive breastfeeding was statistically significant [odds ratio (OR) 2.19; 95% CI 1.6 to 2; p<0.001]. In the subgroup analysis, the normal vaginal delivery group showed OR 2.45 (95% CI 1.76 to 3.35; p<0.001), the cesarean delivery group OR 1.44 (95% CI 0.78 to 2.65; p=0.24), the results for the duration of exclusive breastfeeding as of the discharge time up to 3 months were OR 2.47 (95% CI 1.76 to 3.48; p<0.001), and the results for the 3 to 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding were OR 1.71 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.78; p=0.030).

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (unclear blinding of outcome assessors).

References

• Moore ER, Bergman N, Anderson GC et al. Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;11():CD003519. [PubMed]
• Karimi FZ, Miri HH, Khadivzadeh T et al. The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth on exclusive breastfeeding: a systematic review and meta-analysis J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc 2020;21(1):46-56. [PubMed]