Effects of skin-to-skin contact on full-term infants' stress reactivity and quality of mother-infant interactions.

Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mothers and their infants has beneficial effects in both preterm and full-term infants. Underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. This randomized controlled trial assessed whether daily SSC in full-term mother-infant dyads: (1) decreases infants' cortisol and behavioral reactivity to a mild naturalistic stressor, and (2) facilitates interaction quality between infants and mothers (i.

Effects of daily full-term infant skin-to-skin contact on behavior and cognition at age three - secondary outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) during early infancy fosters the long-term development of children born preterm. This is the first randomized controlled trial assessing the potential beneficial effects of daily SSC on executive functioning and socio-emotional behavior of children born full-term. Whether children of mothers who experienced prenatal stress and anxiety benefitted more from SSC was also explored.

Daily mother-infant skin-to-skin contact and maternal mental health and postpartum healing: a randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a daily hour of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (SSC) during the first five postnatal weeks, compared to care-as-usual, on maternal depressive (primary outcome), anxiety, stress, fatigue, pain, and delivery-related post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Prenatal symptom severity and touch discomfort were examined as moderators. Mothers and full-term infants were randomly allocated to SSC or care-as-usual conditions and followed during the first postnatal year.

Daily skin-to-skin contact and crying and sleeping in healthy full-term infants: A randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial (NTR5697) examined the effects of a 5-week daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) intervention, compared with care-as-usual, on full-term infant crying and sleeping duration during the first 12 weeks postnatally (secondary outcomes of this trial). This trial included 116 Dutch healthy mothers and their full-term infants. SSC mothers were instructed to provide 1 hr daily of SSC for the first 5 weeks postpartum.

Can Maternal Prenatal Self-Reported and Physiological Distress Predict Postnatal Caregiving Practices?

Maternal prenatal distress is associated with child outcomes, including health, neurocognitive, and socio-emotional development. Knowledge on underlying mechanisms is limited, yet relevant for prevention and intervention. This study investigated whether maternal prenatal distress predicts specific caregiving practices that are known for their effects on child outcomes.

Daily skin-to-skin contact in full-term infants and breastfeeding: Secondary outcomes from a randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of a 5-week daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) intervention between mothers and their full-term infants, compared with care-as-usual, on exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration during the first post-natal year. Healthy pregnant women (n = 116) from a community sample were enrolled and randomly allocated to the SSC or care-as-usual condition. SSC mothers were requested to provide one daily hour of SSC for the first five post-natal weeks.

Is prenatal maternal distress context-dependent? Comparing United States and the Netherlands.

Background: Maternal anxiety and depression symptoms during pregnancy can compromise a woman's well-being and affect offspring development. The present study represents a comparison of maternal late-pregnancy internalizing symptoms (i.e.

Effectiveness of skin-to-skin contact versus care-as-usual in mothers and their full-term infants: study protocol for a parallel-group randomized controlled trial.

Background: Twenty-to-forty percent of women experience postpartum depressive symptoms, which can affect both the mother and infant. In preterm infants, daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between the mother and her infant has been shown to decrease maternal postpartum depressive symptoms. In full-term infants, only two studies investigated SSC effects on maternal depressive symptoms and found similar results.