Maternal Risks of Skin to Skin?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Hello all :)

I am a bit stumped on the potential risks for the mother regarding skin to skin care. The only one I can think of is overheating & I can't find much in the literature indicating other risks.

Any info would be much appreciated!

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Hello all :)

I am a bit stumped on the potential risks for the mother regarding skin to skin care. The only one I can think of is overheating & I can't find much in the literature indicating other risks.

Any info would be much appreciated!

Maybe dropping the baby if the mother is overly tired? That's what I was afraid of when they put the baby on me right after surgery.

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Thank you! Yes that is definitely a risk for the baby, and accidental co-sleeping.

I'm starting to think there really may not be any risks for the mother in particular (aside from overheating)

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Thank you! Yes that is definitely a risk for the baby, and accidental co-sleeping.

I'm starting to think there really may not be any risks for the mother in particular (aside from overheating)

Uh sorry ...missed the "mother" part. I can't think of any for the mother, either. Even overheating seems unlikely as the mother would be easily able to fix it.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Cooties if it's a fresh, wet baby?

:)

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I'm a PP nurse and I got nothing. Most of our mom's love skin to skin. Fear of dropping baby, overheating , feeling like a "mom bag" ( my made up medical terminology that means you are tired of a little human constantly attached to you).

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hahaha I don't know much about the science around that, but unfortunately (for me) it's probably good for the mothers skin :D

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Love the mom bag name haha. he guilt of not having the baby skin to skin while mom is trying to eat or sleep is probably a real issue. I'm amazed at how immediate the 'mom guilt' is haha.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Overheating would not be a concern because research has found that StS results in better thermoregulation in both mom and baby.

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I know of mom who got what looked like prickly heat on her chest, in the area where baby's cheek rested. It seemed to be combo of sweat and baby drool. She needed to use a bit of flannel under there to keep her skin comfortable. Rest of baby was fine directly skin to skin.

I think potentially some parents might be risking muscle strain from not wanting to move - esp if the baby was restless and now finally settled. Then the parents kind of freeze in one position. I don't think I've ever seen literature on this though.

If mom is at risk of DVT, then prolonged stationary position is problematic.

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Sudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse of the newborn is a potential concern, although rare. At my hospital, we assess color, tone, and head position of our skin-to-skin babies every 15 minutes after the delivery for the first two hours of life.

Elsevier: Article Locator

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I don't understand how this would be a risk of skin-to-skin? StS does not cause SUPC. Also, the OP asked about MATERNAL risks.

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