A Cochrane review (abstract «Immediate or early skin‐to‐skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants»1, review «Immediate or early skin‐to‐skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants»1) included 69 studies with a total of 7 290 participants (mother-infant dyads). Early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) increased exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge to one month postbirth (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.56; I²=62%; 12 studies; n=1556) and at 6 weeks to 6 months postbirth (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.74; I²87%; 11 studies; n=1135). Skin-to-skin contact increased infants' blood glucose levels (3 studies, 144 newborns) and may improve their breathing and heart rate (2 studies, 81 newborns).
A meta-analysis «Karimi FZ, Miri HH, Khadivzadeh T et al. The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth on exclusive breastfeeding: a systematic review and meta-analysis J Turk Ger Gynecol A»2 included 8 trials with a total of 1009 participants. The effects of mother-infant SSC on exclusive breastfeeding was statistically significant [odds ratio (OR) 2.19; 95% CI 1.6 to 2; p<0.001]. In the subgroup analysis, the normal vaginal delivery group showed OR 2.45 (95% CI 1.76 to 3.35; p<0.001), the cesarean delivery group OR 1.44 (95% CI 0.78 to 2.65; p=0.24), the results for the duration of exclusive breastfeeding as of the discharge time up to 3 months were OR 2.47 (95% CI 1.76 to 3.48; p<0.001), and the results for the 3 to 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding were OR 1.71 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.78; p=0.030).
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (unclear blinding of outcome assessors).