SynthesisPloS one2018
Worldwide prevalence of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact after vaginal birth: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07304037 (The Effect of Skin-to-Skin Contact Applied in the Early Postpartum Period on Maternal Pain, Birth Satisfaction, and Maternal Vital Signs Dynamics), which is not on this map. Cited by 58 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Skin-to-Skin Contact Applied in the Early Postpartum Period on Maternal Pain, Birth Satisfaction, and Maternal Vital Signs Dynamics
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Immediate or early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn during the third stage of labour in reducing postpartum haemorrhage risk.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Outcome Reporting in Clinical Trials on Kangaroo Mother Care in Newborns: A Systematic Review for the Development of Core Outcome Set.Journal of nursing management · 2025Pooled it
- The content, experiences and outcomes of interventions designed to increase early skin-to-skin contact in high-income settings: A mixed-methods systematic review.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2023Pooled it
- Knowledge, attitude and practice towards kangaroo mother care among postnatal women in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Parent-Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact and Stress Regulation: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Breastfeeding and the Risk of Infant Illness in Asia: A Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Efficacy of nurse-led breastfeeding supportive care (B-SUCA) on breastfeeding outcomes among mother-newborn dyads in a tertiary referral hospital of India: a randomized controlled trial.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Trial
- Randomized clinical trial of the effect of the onset time of skin-to-skin contact at birth, immediate compared to early, on the duration of breastfeeding in full term newborns.International breastfeeding journal · 2021Trial
- Factors Influencing Successful Breastfeeding: A Regional Survey and Comparative Review in European and Global Contexts.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Metagenomic survey of pathogen prevalence in the infant gut.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Geographical inequalities in skin-to-skin contact after birth among women in Somaliland: a multilevel and spatial analysis of the 2020 survey.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Individual and community-level determinants of skin-to-skin contact in Somaliland: a multilevel analysis of the 2020 demographic and health survey data.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding, bonding, and olfaction: unlocking the potential of mother-infant odour exchange.EBioMedicine · 2026Review
- Midwifery Research Priorities in Saudi Arabia: A Priority-Setting Partnership Approach.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Clinical audit of skin-to-skin contact and initiation of breastfeeding after birth.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Effect of Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact on Exclusive Breastfeeding: An Instrumental Variable Approach.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Article
- Prevalence and determinants of mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact: an assessment from the 2017-18 BDHS data.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Predicting mother and newborn skin-to-skin contact using a machine learning approach.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Development of a core outcome set and core measurement set for kangaroo mother care: a study protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation for immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth, separation of mothers and infants seems to be common practice in many hospitals. It is unknown how common the practice of SSC is worldwide. Therefore, we aimed to determine the reported prevalence of SSC for healthy mothers and infants immediately after normal birth.
methodsWe systematically searched CINAHL, Medline, ProQuest Central, PubMed and the Cochrane Library for articles published between January 2007 and October 2017 using the keywords "kangaroo care" or "skin to skin contact" or "breastfeeding initiation" or "breast crawl" or "maternal infant contact" or "maternal newborn contact" or "baby friendly hospital initiative" or "ten steps for successful breastfeeding".
resultsAfter an initial screening of 5266 records, 84 full text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 35 of these met the inclusion criteria. The studies were from 28 countries representing all six WHO world regions. There was a wide range in the practice of SSC for mother-infant dyads around the world: from 1% to 98%. Only 15 studies clearly defined SSC. Most of the studies were from high-income countries, and these reported higher rates of SSC than studies from low and middle-income countries.
conclusionThere was a great heterogeneity in the definition of SSC as well as study designs, which makes cross-county comparison difficult. National studies reporting SSC rates are lacking. Future studies and guidelines to enhance SSC practice should include a standardised set of indicators and measurement tools that document SSC starting time and duration of SSC.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.