Literacy on Skin-to-Skin Contact

Abstract

Strong scientific evidence supports the importance of practicing skin-to-skin contact immediately after childbirth. It is considered a unique time that provides vital advantages and short- and long-term health benefits for infants and mothers. Skin-to-skin contact has proved to enhance social and emotional development and attachment. Other benefits of skin-to-skin contact are the high impact on promoting breastfeeding and healthy eating behaviors. It promotes neurophysiological adjustment to postnatal life. Newborn infants who received SSC cry less, and mothers experience fewer maternal depression symptoms. The newborn infants experienced less pain responding to vitamin K intramuscular injections. This practice has a great value, and it is a natural and instinctive behavior; therefore, it is essential to convey understandable information to pregnant women and their families, permitting them to follow health-informed decisions to support SSC as the best start for their babies.