Impact of prolonged skin-to-skin contact within 42 days post-cesarean on breastfeeding outcomes
10.3760/cma.j.cn113903-20240807-00559
- VernacularTitle:剖宫产后42 d内持续性母婴皮肤接触对母乳喂养的影响
- Author:
Zhipu HUANG
1
;
Zhuping CAO
;
Xin ZHOU
;
Sa XIAO
;
Yun DU
;
Jingjing ZHENG
;
Qiufen YANG
Author Information
1. 西北妇女儿童医院产五科，西安 710061
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Skin to skin contact;
Cesarean section;
Breastfeeding
- From:
Chinese Journal of Perinatal Medicine
2025;28(7):569-575
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the influence of prolonged post-cesarean skin-to-skin contact (SSC) on breastfeeding outcomes.Methods:A quasi-experimental study was conducted, employing convenience sampling to recruit mother-infant dyads (intervention group: 82 dyads; control group: 85 dyads) from term cesarean deliveries at Northwest Women's and Children's Hospital from December 2021 to May 2022. The control group received routine care, while in the intervention group, SSC was immediately initiated for 90 min upon returning to the ward after cesarean delivery, followed by daily SSC for≥2 h until 42 d postpartum. Propensity score matching was used for 1∶1 matching to control for confounders, resulting in 82 dyads per group. Two independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test and repeated-measures analysis of variance were used to compare the data between the two groups, including first breastfeeding scores and success rates, the initiation time of lactation, the incidence of delayed lactation, exclusive breastfeeding rates, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and breastfeeding duration. Results:Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed higher first breastfeeding score [11 (11-11) vs. 10 (8-11) scores, Z=30.43] and success rate [82.9% (68/82) vs. 69.5% (57/82), χ2=4.07], shorter initiation time of lactation [45 (35-48) vs. 48 (40-72) h, Z=12.60], and lower incidence of delayed lactation [17.1% (14/82) vs. 32.9% (27/82), χ2=4.68] (all P<0.05). The exclusive breastfeeding rates at 3 d, 42 d, and 3 months after birth were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group [76.8% (63/82) vs. 58.5% (48/82), 81.7% (67/82) vs. 67.1% (55/82), 80.5% (66/82) vs. 64.6% (53/82); χ2=5.46, 3.87, 4.41; all P<0.05]. The breastfeeding self- efficacy scores at 3 d, 42 d, 3 months, and 6 months after birth were also higher in the intervention group [(54.7±6.0) vs. (51.3±9.0) scores, (57.9±5.7) vs. (53.3±8.4) scores, (58.5±7.0) vs. (54.3±7.9) scores, (56.5±8.0) vs. (52.4±11.6) scores; t=－2.81,－4.12,－3.63,－2.63; all P<0.05]. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant time, group, and interaction effects on self-efficacy ( F=24.29, 13.02, 3.28; all P<0.05). Conclusion:Prolonged SSC after cesarean section promotes the success of early breastfeeding during hospitalization, improves maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy, and increases the exclusive breastfeeding rate within the first 3 months after delivery.
