The influence of pre- and post-partum factors on the time of contact between mother and her new-born after vaginal delivery.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this report is to determine the pre-partum and post-partum factors that may influence the time interval from vaginal delivery to first skin-to-skin contact between the mother and her newborn at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.


METHODS
A prospective study of 250 consecutive healthy mother-infant pairs. Information on pre- and post-partum factors was obtained from interview of mothers, direct observation and medical records. The proportion of mothers who made skin-to-skin contact with their babies within 30 minutes of delivery (early contact) was compared with those who did not (late contact) in the various pre- and post-partum groups.


RESULTS
There was early skin-to-skin contact between mother and child in ninety-six (38.4%) of the 250 mother-infant pairs. Age of mother below 25 years, primiparity, labour less than 12 hours and late repair of episiotomy were associated with early skin-to-skin contact between mother and child. Early performance of routine cleaning and taking measurements of newborn was significantly associated with late skin-to-skin contact with mother. A significantly high proportion of mothers who were assisted to breastfeed had early contact with their babies compared with those who did not have any such assistance (48.8% vs. 17.1%). Ninety-six (39.7%) of the 242 mothers who received information on breastfeeding had early contact compared with none of the 8 mothers who did not have breastfeeding education. The mother's marital status and level of education did not show any statistically significant association with time of mother skin-to-skin contact with baby.


CONCLUSIONS
Post-partum labour ward practices (cleaning and measurement of baby, assistance received by mother on breastfeeding and timing of repair of episiotomy) are the most important factors found to affect time of first contact between mother and child. It is recommended that immediate contact between newborn and mother should take precedence over hospital routines.
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Department of Paediatrics, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.
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D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004841:Episiotomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors