Healthy Birth Practice #6: Keep Mother and Baby Together— It’s Best for Mother, Baby, and Breastfeeding

Mothers and babies have a physiologic need to be together at the moment of birth and during the hours and days that follow. Keeping mothers and babies together is a safe and healthy birth practice. Evidence supports immediate, uninterrupted skin-to-skin care after vaginal birth and during and after cesarean surgery for all stable mothers and babies, regardless of feeding preference. Unlimited opportunities for skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding promote optimal maternal and child outcomes. This article is an updated evidence-based review of the “Lamaze International Care Practices That Promote Normal Birth, Care Practice #6: No Separation of Mother and Baby, With Unlimited Opportunities for Breastfeeding,” published in The Journal of Perinatal Education, 16(3), 2007.