Investigation of the Effects of Early Skin-to-Skin Contact on Mother and Baby in Cesarean Births

The rate of cesarean birth continues to increase in the world and in our country. As with all surgeries, the risks of cesarean birth include the possibility of bleeding and infection, prolonged recovery time after birth, delays in initiating breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact (SSC), and increased likelihood of complications in future pregnancies.

While many hospitals apply SSC after normal births, it is known that the number of hospitals that apply SSC in the operating room after cesarean birth is very few. Factors that prevent the initiation of SSC after cesarean birth include the effect of the current operating room culture, the physiological evaluation process of the baby after birth, the presence of procedures such as measuring body weight, aspiration, and Apgar score evaluation.

Since the mother and baby are separated after cesarean birth, the mother's initiation of breastfeeding in the first hour of life may be delayed, and the duration of exclusive breastfeeding may be shortened. The 90-minute uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact during which the baby is dried and placed directly on the mother's bare chest after birth maximizes the chance that babies are physically ready to breastfeed.

Although there are studies showing the benefits of SSC application in the operating room such as breastfeeding rates, maintaining the body temperature of the newborn, reducing maternal stress levels, and increasing oxytocin levels, a limited number of studies have been reached in the literature using SSC application guidelines developed to ensure the sustainability of SSC application in the operating room, post-op care unit, and obstetrics clinic. The first contribution of this planned study to the literature will be to standardize SSC application with SSC checklists prepared for use in the cesarean operation room, post-op care unit, and obstetrics ward based on SSC application guidelines. As a second contribution, considering the conditions of the health institution where the study will be conducted, the effects of starting SSC as early as possible and applying it in the cesarean operation room, post-op care unit, and obstetrics ward on the stress level of newborns, sucking success, and pain and salivary cortisol (stress) levels of mothers will be evaluated.