Step 4 - Help mothers initiate breastfeeding soon after birth
Standards
- All mothers should be given their baby to hold with skin-to-skin contact in an unhurried environment for an unlimited period as soon as possible after delivery.
- All mothers should be offered help to initiate a first breastfeed when their baby shows signs of readiness to feed.
Assessment
Requirements at Stage 1:
- The method used for recording incidence and duration of post-delivery skin-to-skin contact.
- The method used for recording the first breastfeed.
Requirements at Stage 3:
- New mothers to confirm that they were given the opportunity to hold their baby in skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible after birth.
- New mothers to confirm that they were able to hold their baby in skin contact for at least 30 minutes.
- New mothers to confirm that they were offered help with a first breastfeed.
NB: Mothers may choose not to hold their baby with skin contact or may want to end the period of skin contact after less than half an hour. There may also be clinical reasons why mothers or babies are not able to have skin contact in the immediate postnatal period. It is the trust’s responsibility to ensure that mothers and babies are encouraged to have skin contact in an unhurried environment when they are able and that any decision not to do this is made after being fully informed of the benefits of skin contact.
