Newborn infants who received skin‐to‐skin contact with fathers after Caesarean sections showed stable physiological patterns

4 | DISCUSSION
Our results show that the infants' physiological parameters and 
the level of wakefulness showed a stable pattern within the normal 
range in the three caregiving groups. The infants in the skin-to-skin 
contact group had a higher mean heart rate at 45 minutes after 
Caesarean delivery than the other two groups, and this higher alert 
state lasted until approximately 90 minutes. No significant differ-
ences were noted between the groups when it came to ear tempera-
ture or peripheral oxygen saturation.
The results show that newborn infants can be safely and ad-
equately cared for by their fathers if their mothers cannot take 
care of them straight after birth. Another study from the same 
sample and hospital setting showed that fathers who took care 
of their newborn infants for the first hours after birth developed 
a better understanding of their infant's first moments of life and 
became more engaged with them as a result.
15
Another paper on 
the same cohort reported that the mothers felt that the family 
benefitted from the fathers caring for their newborn infant while 
they recovered from their Caesarean section and were separated 
from their baby.
16
These findings about paternal newborn care are important be-
cause many countries routinely separate both parents from their 
newborn infant after Caesarean sections. This is particularly true in 
low-income and middle-income countries.
Our study showed that the infants in the skin-to-skin group 
showed a specific pattern of wakefulness that was similar to the pat-
tern observed in vaginally delivered infants
5,17
They showed an alert 
state from 45 minutes and starts to decrease at 90 minutes, followed 
by a drowsy state from 105 to 120 minutes. The infants' prolonged 
state of wakefulness in the skin-to-skin group might suggest a 
more adaptive state after a Caesarean section, which facilitates the 
F I G U R E 4
Means' wakefulness at 45 to 120 minutes after 
birth in the three groups: Infant in a cot join is father, infant in the 
father's arms, and infant skin-to-skin group
0
1
2
3
4
5
45
60
75
90
105
120
Mean
s
MINUTES