Beyond Pain Management: Skin-to-Skin Contact as a Humanization Strategy in Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine
• Postpartum Care

Background:

• Postoperative pain management after cesarean section is critical for maternal recovery.
• Non-pharmacological methods like skin-to-skin contact (SSC) are underutilized.
• Effective pain control aids early bonding and breastfeeding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of immediate SSC on postoperative pain after cesarean.
• To evaluate SSC's effect on uterine contraction quality.
• To explore integrating SSC into routine postpartum care for enhanced recovery.

Main Methods:

• Randomized clinical trial involving 80 women undergoing cesarean.
• Comparison between an immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) group and a control group.
• Pain assessed via Visual Analog Scale (VAS); contractions and satisfaction evaluated clinically.

Main Results:

• The SSC group reported significantly lower pain scores at 2 and 3 hours postpartum (p < 0.001).
• Stronger infraumbilical uterine contractions were observed in the SSC group (92.5%, p < 0.001).
• Maternal satisfaction was markedly higher in the SSC group (9.98 vs. 6.50, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Immediate SSC is an effective, humanizing intervention post-cesarean.
• SSC reduces pain, improves uterine contractions, and increases maternal satisfaction.
• Integration of SSC into standard care is recommended to enhance recovery and patient autonomy.