Research Article Skin-to-Skin Contact in Cesarean Birth and Duration of Breastfeeding: A Cohort Study Andrea Guala, 1 Luigina Boscardini, 1 Raffaella Visentin, 1 Paola Angellotti, 1 Laura Grugni, 2 Michelangelo Barbaglia, 3 Elise Chapin, 4 Eleonora Castelli, 5 and Enrico Finale 5 1 Department of Pediatrics, Castelli Hospital, Verbania, Italy 2 Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Castelli Hospital, Verbania, Italy 3 SS Trinit` a Hospital, Borgomanero, Italy 4 Baby Friendly Initiatives, Italian Committee UNICEF, Rome, Italy 5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Castelli Hospital, Verbania, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to Enrico Finale; enrico.fnale@gmail.com Received 25 February 2017; Revised 17 July 2017; Accepted 31 July 2017; Published 7 September 2017 Academic Editor: Zhe-Xue Quan Copyright © 2017 Andrea Guala et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) afer birth is a physiological practice that is internationally recommended and has well- documented importance for the baby and for the mother. Tis study aims to examine SSC with a cohort of mothers or fathers in the operating room afer a Cesarean section (C-section) and its relationship with duration of breastfeeding. From January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, at the Castelli Hospital in Verbania, Italy, a Baby Friendly designated hospital, 252 consecutive women who had a C-section were enrolled in the study and followed for 6 months. Te sample was later divided into three groups depending on the real outcomes in the operating room: SSC with the mother (57.5%), SSC with the father (17.5%), and no SSC (25%). Our study showed a statistical association between skin-to-skin contact with the mother and the exclusive breastfeeding rates on discharge. Tis efect is maintained and statistically signifcant at three and six months, as compared to the groups that had paternal SSC or no SSC. Afer a C-section, skin-to-skin contact with the mother can be an important practice for support, promotion, and duration of breastfeeding. 1. Introduction Early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) afer birth is a physiologi- cal practice that is internationally recommended [1–3] and has well-documented importance for the baby and for the mother [4]: prevention of hypothermia [5], decreased crying time, neonatal bonding, cardiorespiratory stability, and early latching on to the breast which leads to breastfeeding [5– 8]. Babies born by Cesarean section do not acquire maternal vaginal microbes; thus SSC afer birth permits microbial colonization of the newborn with maternal skin microbiota [9]. Signifcant efects for the mother include the reduction of depressive symptoms and physiological stress during the postnatal period and the strengthening of the mother-baby relationship [10, 11]. SSC is an integral part of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative [3] (BFHI) and a practice that requires minimal organizational efort or costs for the hospitals that ofer it. SSC has also been shown to have important health impacts [12] and to save money in neonatal units [13]. While SSC should be the natural conclusion afer a vaginal birth, it is not always feasible during a Cesarean section (C-section), especially an emergency one [5, 6]. If the mother is unable to do SSC for medical or personal reasons, the father remains an alternative to decrease crying time [14, 15]. Tis study aims to examine skin-to-skin contact with mother or father in the operating room in the case of a C-section and its relationship to the onset and duration of breastfeeding. 2. Materials and Methods From January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, at the Castelli Hospital in Verbania (a Baby Friendly Hospital designated Hindawi e Scientific World Journal Volume 2017, Article ID 1940756, 5 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1940756