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Cited by 89Infant Health and DevelopmentInfant Development and Preterm CareNeuroendocrine regulation and behavior

Mother–infant skin-to-skin contact: short-and long-term effects for mothers and their children born full-term

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Bigelow, Ann E., Power, Michelle·2020·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01921PMC PMC7485314
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Abstract

This brief report reviews findings from a longitudinal study of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) with mothers and full-term infants and a follow-up study of these dyads when the children were 9 years. Findings infer the positive influence of SSC on mother-child interactions in infancy and into children's middle childhood. Mothers and infants in SSC and control groups were seen when infants were 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months. SSC group mothers reported fewer depressive symptoms in infants' early weeks and had a greater reduction in salivary cortisol, a physiological stress indicator, in infants' first month (Bigelow et al., 2012). SSC group mothers who initially chose to breastfeed continued to breastfeed their infants throughout the 3 months, whereas breastfeeding mothers in the control group declined over the visits (Bigelow et al., 2014). When engaged in the Still Face Task with their mothers, SSC group infants showed the still face effect with their affect at 1 month, a month before the control group infants did so (Bigelow and Power, 2012). At 3 months, SSC group infants were social bidding to their mothers during the still face phase. When the children were 9 years, the mother-child dyads engaged in conversations about the children's remembered emotional events (Bigelow et al., 2018). Mother-child dyads who had been in the SSC group showed more engagement and reciprocity in the conversations than mother-child dyads who had been in the control group. Oxytocin, which is induced by SSC, is hypothesized to be an underlying factor that helped the mother-infant relationship have a positive trajectory with long-term benefits.

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  • Pulses of oxytocin are released in the mother and infant postpartum when in physical contact with one another.

    “Pulses of oxytocin are released in the mother and infant postpartum when in physical contact with one another (Bigelow and Power, 2020).”

    From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Bigelow and Power (2020)

    The Role of Oxytocin section says skin-to-skin contact after birth increases oxytocin in both mother and infant. It does not describe that release as occurring in pulses, so the claim’s timing and physical-contact link are supported but its specific release pattern is not. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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2 of the 79 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Bretherton I. Munholland K. A. (1999). “ Internal working models in attachment relationships” in Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical application. eds. Cassidy J. Shaver P. R. (New York: Guilford Press), 89– 111.
  2. Dunn J. B. Richards M. P. M. (1977). “ Observations on the developing relationship between mother and baby in the neonatal period” in Studies in mother-infant interaction. ed. Schaffer H. R. (New York: Academic Press), 427– 455.
  3. Velandia M. (2012). Parent-infant skin-to-skin contact studies: parent-infant interaction and oxytocin levels during skin-to-skin contact after cesarean section and mother-infant skin-to-skin contact as treatment for breastfeeding problems. (PhD dissertation). Solna, Sweden: Karolinska Institutet.

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Authors
Bigelow, A. E., & Power, M.
Affiliations
St. Francis Xavier University (CA)
Corresponding author
Bigelow, Ann E.
ORCID
Bigelow, Ann E.
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-08-28
Volume
11
Pages
1921-1921
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01921
PMC
PMC7485314
OpenAlex
W3081776148
Cited by
88
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8
FWCI
13.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (435-2013-0525)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
Keywords
skin-to-skin contact, mother-infant relationship, term infants, breastfeeding, maternal depressive symptoms, salivary cortisol, infant stress, mother-child conversation, oxytocin, long-term effects, middle childhood

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