The Effect of Skin-to-skin Contact at Birth

June 14, 2026 updated by: Tugce Sonmez, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

The Effect of Skin-to-skin Contact at Birth on Birth Outcomes and Parenting Behavior

To determine the effects of skin-to-skin contact at birth on birth outcomes (placental delivery time, postpartum pain level, time of first breastfeeding, and breastfeeding motivation) and on postpartum parenting behavior.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Skin-to-skin contact (STSC) involves placing the baby on the mother's chest for at least one hour during or immediately after birth. After birth, healthy, full-term babies who receive STSC will orient themselves toward their mother's breast and nipple and begin suckling within approximately one hour. This practice has many benefits for both mother and baby. Looking at the benefits for the mother, these include earlier placental separation, reduced postpartum bleeding, increased breastfeeding self-efficacy, and decreased stress levels in the mother. Furthermore, the rise in oxytocin levels in the mother within the first hour after birth promotes the development and strengthening of the bond between mother and baby. The benefits for the baby include a reduction in adverse outcomes associated with birth stress, effective thermoregulation, less and shorter crying, a decrease in the likelihood of apnea, less physiological weight loss, and less stress response to painful procedures. At the same time, it has been shown that SC reduces the rate of formula supplementation in hospitals, increases the initiation of breastfeeding and the level of exclusive breastfeeding, and leads to successful first breastfeeding and optimal suckling. The timing and duration of skin-to-skin contact (STSC) vary. In this study, skin-to-skin contact will be performed immediately after birth.

STSC at birth or immediately after birth: The newborn is placed face-to-face on the mother's abdomen or chest within the first minute after birth. If medically necessary, aspiration can be performed while the baby is on the mother's abdomen or chest, and the baby is thoroughly dried. To prevent heat loss, the baby's back is covered with a pre-warmed blanket and a hat is placed on the head. All other interventions on the newborn can be delayed until at least the end of the first hour after birth or the first successful breastfeeding.

Skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby is noted as one of the most effective practices to support placental separation during the third stage of labor. This practice not only contributes to the baby's physiological adaptation but also strengthens the mother-baby bond. Skin-to-skin contact is reported to increase oxytocin release, helping the placenta separate more easily and quickly.

The first two hours after birth, when newborns are most sensitive to sensory cues such as their mother's warmth, touch, and smell, are considered the most appropriate time for initiating breastfeeding and establishing bonding. The aim of skin-to-skin contact is to initiate the first breastfeeding after birth as early as possible. This helps to initiate breastfeeding early, strengthening the emotional bond between mother and baby and contributing to a longer breastfeeding period. It is recommended that breastfeeding begin within the first half hour after birth through skin-to-skin contact.

Childbirth is a unique process that is perceived and experienced differently by each woman and is considered an important step in the transition to parenthood. Ensuring that this process occurs in line with the mother's expectations helps to make the postpartum period more peaceful and healthy. The baby, who is in constant physical contact with the mother during the intrauterine period, maintains continuity of communication by establishing contact with the mother after birth. Maintaining this contact in the postpartum period is an important requirement that supports the physical and psychological well-being of both the mother and the baby.

Skin-to-skin contact (STSC), as the first physical bond established between the mother and newborn immediately after birth, is a fundamental practice that brings many positive physiological and psychosocial effects. In this context, examining the effects of skin-to-skin contact during birth on both birth outcomes (such as placental separation time, postpartum pain, timing of first breastfeeding, and motivation) and parenting behaviors is of great importance for developing evidence-based approaches in birth care.

The findings obtained will contribute to midwifery practices in childbirth and postnatal care, thereby providing a basis for strengthening policies aimed at supporting maternal and newborn health.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
96

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Vaginal delivery
  • Primiparous pregnancy
  • Delivery at 37 weeks or later
  • Single, live fetus
  • Not a high-risk pregnancy
  • Not an individual with special needs
  • Able to communicate

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women who Have a multiple pregnancy,
  • Develop complications requiring emergency intervention in the mother or baby after delivery,
  • Have their baby admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit after delivery,
  • Have a cesarean section,
  • Withdraw from the study will be excluded from the research.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Control group
Mothers and newborns in the control group will not receive any procedures; they will undergo the hospital's routine procedures.
Experimental: Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact After Birth (intervention group)
Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth: If the newborn requires no intervention, they will be immediately placed on the mother's chest (before cord clamping) and skin-to-skin contact will begin. Skin-to-skin contact will be maintained for approximately 60 minutes until the first breastfeeding occurs. All routine procedures performed in the delivery room for the newborn (except for weight measurement) will be performed while the newborn is on the mother's chest.
Other: Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth (intervention group)
Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth: If the newborn requires no intervention, they will be immediately placed on the mother's chest (before cord clamping) and skin-to-skin contact will begin. Skin-to-skin contact will be maintained for approximately 60 minutes until the first breastfeeding occurs. All routine procedures performed in the delivery room for the newborn (except for weight measurement) will be performed while the newborn is on the mother's chest.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Personal Information Form
Time Frame: baseline
The form prepared by the researchers consists of 14 questions about the mothers' socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric characteristics, and newborns.
baseline
Breastfeeding Motivation Scale
Time Frame: Periprocedural
The Breastfeeding Motivation Scale, based on Self-Determination Theory, was developed by Peleg et al. (2015). It was adapted into Turkish by Şahin et al. in 2017, and a validity and reliability study was conducted. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the Turkish version consists of 23 items and five sub-factors for primiparous mothers, and 24 items and six sub-factors for multiparous mothers. According to the calculated Cronbach's alpha value, the Breastfeeding Motivation Scale is a highly reliable scale for both primiparous (Cronbach's alpha: 0.887) and multiparous (Cronbach's alpha: 0.914) mothers. The scale consists of 24 items and 5 sub-dimensions. The items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with each item receiving a score between 1 and 4. The total score of the scale is calculated by averaging the scores of the sub-dimensions. As the score obtained from a subscale increases, it is interpreted as an increase in the motivation represented by that subscale.
Periprocedural
VAS
Time Frame: Periprocedural
The VAS (Visual Assessment Scale) is one of the most commonly used measurement tools for determining pain intensity. The VAS consists of a line drawn on a horizontal or vertical axis, 10 cm or 100 mm long. At one end of this line is the word "no pain," and at the other end is the word "unbearable pain." The distance from the lowest VAS value to the point marked by the pregnant woman is measured in cm or mm to determine the numerical value of the pain intensity. The evaluation is based on these markings. The VAS is considered a successful measurement tool for evaluating the effectiveness of pain relief methods (Demir, 2012; Carvalho & Cohen, 2013).
Periprocedural
Postnatal Parenting Behavior Scale
Time Frame: Periprocedural

The scale was developed by Britton et al. in 2001 to evaluate the behaviors exhibited by parents during their first interactions after birth (Britton et al., 2001). The Turkish adaptation, validity, and reliability study of the scale was conducted by Çalışır et al. (2009) (Çalışır et al., 2009).

This scale aims to evaluate the parenting behaviors of the mother or father during their first encounter with their baby immediately after birth through observation. In the six-item scale, the observer records whether the parent exhibits each behavior; behaviors performed are indicated with a "+" sign, and those not performed with a "-" sign. A score of "1" is given for each observed behavior, and a score of "0" for each unobserved behavior. Thus, the total score that can be obtained from the scale ranges from 0 to 6.

A high score indicates that the parent exhibits more positive and supportive parenting behaviors towards their baby.
Periprocedural
Skin-to-Skin Contact, Placental Separation, and Breastfeeding Process Tracking Form
Time Frame: Periprocedural
This form was created by researchers. It is used to record information about when mothers started skin-to-skin contact, the duration of skin-to-skin contact, the time they started breastfeeding, the duration of breastfeeding, and the time it took for placental separation.
Periprocedural

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Serap Ejder Apay, Prof., Ataturk University
  • Study Chair: Mehtap Begüm Orak, Master's student, Ataturk University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Birthskincontact

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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