10/23/2025
The evidence for immediate, continuous skin-to-skin after birth and daily is so strong that researchers determine it is no longer ethical to separate mothers and babies into typical care (newborn nursery, swaddling, etc) groups for research purposes.
👶 Skin-to-skin contact involves placing the naked newborn on the mother’s uncovered chest immediately after birth. This simple practice helps babies adapt to life outside the womb, keeping them warm, reducing stress and crying, and supporting vital functions such as breathing and heart rate.
New Cochrane evidence confirms what many already practice: immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers gives babies a better start in life.
Babies held skin-to-skin within the first hour after birth are more likely to:
🩵 Breastfeed exclusively
🩵 Maintain healthy body temperature and blood sugar
🩵 Breathe and adapt better outside the womb
Importantly, the evidence is now so strong that researchers argue it’s no longer ethical to conduct studies that separate mothers and babies after birth.
“Withholding skin-to-skin contact would now be considered unethical, as there is enough evidence to show that the practice improves newborn health and survival,” says Karin Cadwell, senior author and Executive Director and Lead Faculty of
Healthy Children Project Center for Breastfeeding.
Read more on our website: https://www.cochrane.org/about-us/news/strong-evidence-supports-skin-skin-contact-after-birth-standard-care
