Skin-To-Skin Contact During Cesarean Birth in the United States over the Last Decade

Purpose:To assess skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth, including incidence and maternal characteristics.Study Design and Methods:A cross-sectional, retrospective study using survey methods was conducted. Women who had a cesarean birth within the last 10 years prior to January 2022 were recruited via social media. Descriptive statistics, chi square, and binary logistic regression analyses were calculated.Results:There were 2,327 participants, of which 29.7% experienced skin-to-skin contact during their cesarean birth. This was reported to be less often than desired. Significant associations were found among skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth and planned cesarean birth, previous cesarean birth, maternal age, level of education, and birth region. Previous vaginal birth and race were not significantly associated with skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth. Most (93.65%) respondents identified as White. Barriers to skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth may be birth region, unplanned or emergency cesarean births, younger age, lacking a college degree, and lack of previous cesarean births.Clinical Implications:There are differences in incidence and access to skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth. Our findings emphasize the continued need to address disparities in care, increase maternal health care equity, and make skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth available for all women who desire it. In this study, women in the United States who had a cesarean birth in the last decade were recruited via social media for a survey about skin-to-skin contact with the newborn during their most recent cesarean birth. The reported incidence of skin-to-skin contact during cesarean birth increased over the last decade, however many women indicated a desire to do so but not being able to have the experience. All women having cesarean birth should be offered skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth if desired and feasible given the condition of the mother and baby.