Although skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mother and newborn-involving the naked infant lying on the mother's bare chest within a few hours of birth-is common after vaginal deliveries, it's not often practiced after cesarean deliveries for fear of causing hypothermia in the babies. Babies born by cesarean section are at higher risk for developing hypothermia for several reasons, including the low operating room temperature and the effects of anesthesia. Gouchon and colleagues examined whether SSC after a cesarean section causes decreased body temperature in the infant.

A total of 34 women who had cesarean deliveries in an Italian hospital were randomized to SSC (n=17) or routine care (n=17). Each baby in the SSC group was bathed and dried but dressed only in a diaper and cap. Wrapped in a warm cloth, the infant was held by a relative or placed in a warmer until the mother returned to her room, when the baby was placed on the mother's chest and covered by a cloth, sheet, and blanket for two hours at most. Routine care involved bathing, drying, and dressing the newborn, who was then held by a family member or placed in a warmer until the mother returned to her room. At that time, the mother could place the baby in her bed, in a crib next to her bed, or on the neonatal unit.

Findings revealed no significant differences in the mean temperatures of infants in either group at any point (not on arrival from the operating room; or after being bathed; or after the mother returned to her room; and not at 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes afterward). The authors concluded that compared with routine care, SSC doesn't increase the risk of hypothermia in infants delivered by cesarean section.