This single-center randomized controlled clinical trial will evaluate the effects of structured early postpartum mother-infant skin-to-skin contact, with or without maternal lavender aromatherapy, after elective cesarean section on maternal stress biomarkers and early breastfeeding outcomes. The study will enroll 150 term pregnant women scheduled for elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia at Ataturk University Research Hospital. Participants will be randomized into three groups: routine postoperative care, structured skin-to-skin contact, and structured skin-to-skin contact combined with inhalational lavender aromatherapy. The primary outcome is the change in maternal salivary cortisol level from immediately after birth to 60 minutes postpartum. Secondary outcomes include maternal salivary IgA levels, state anxiety scores, postoperative pain and nausea, time to first analgesic requirement, early breastfeeding initiation and success, LATCH scores, neonatal axillary temperature, cumulative duration and continuity of skin-to-skin contact, maternal satisfaction, and the need for mother-infant separation within the first 2 hours postpartum.
Female participants aged 18 to 40 years
Term singleton pregnancy (≥37 weeks of gestation)
Scheduled for elective cesarean section
ASA physical status I-II
Emergency cesarean section
General anesthesia or conversion from spinal to general anesthesia
Need for neonatal resuscitation or severe neonatal compromise
Maternal hemodynamic instability or massive hemorrhage