A Quality Improvement Project Focused on Women's Perceptions of Skin-to-Skin Contact After Cesarean Birth

A quality improvement (QI) project was designed to identify women's perceptions of the benefits of skin-to-skin contact with newborns immediately following cesarean birth. Women reported positive experiences associated with skin-to-skin contact with their newborns. A major theme that emerged was that women who had cesarean birth felt that this QI project resulted in a birthing experience comparable to that of mothers who had vaginal deliveries. Participants also experienced decreased anxiety regarding the health and welfare of their newborns, as compared to a previous cesarean birth experience in which they did not have skin-to-skin contact.