The Effect of Paternal Skin-to-Skin Contact After Cesarean Section on the Breastfeeding Process

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the effect of paternal skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding after cesarean section. BACKGROUND: Skin-to-skin contact can be used to strengthen breastfeeding in newborns. METHODS: The study was conducted between April 2023 and August 2023 in the obstetrics clinic of a hospital in a province in eastern Turkey, with a total of 126 postpartum women who had cesarean sections. A socio-demographic characteristics introduction form, a questionnaire on skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding process, and the LATCH Breastfeeding Assessment Tool were used to collect research data. RESULTS: The time to initiate breastfeeding was determined as 67.54 ± 10.69 minutes in the skin-to-skin contact group and 86.38 ± 35.14 minutes in the control group. The mean LATCH score of postpartum women in the skin-to-skin contact group was 8.13 ± 1.27, while the mean LATCH score of mothers in the control group was 6.13 ± 1.69. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of time to initiate breastfeeding, postpartum women's first breastfeeding durations, time for the newborn to latch onto the breast, babies' first latch-on behavior, swallowing movement during sucking, behaviors after feeding, supplementary food intake, postpartum LATCH score, and LATCH score at discharge. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that skin-to-skin contact applied through fathers after cesarean section has a positive effect on breastfeeding behaviors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: As healthcare professionals, it is recommended that fathers be informed about skin-to-skin contact during the antenatal period, encouraged for skin-to-skin contact in the postpartum process, and that hospital policy health policies include policies that encourage fathers' active participation in the postpartum process.