Postpartum skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is a health care practice strongly advised by the WHO because of the long- and short-term benefits for both maternal and newborn health. This update summarizes the main findings supporting the recommendation to perform SSC during the immediate postpartum period, specifically the benefits on breastfeeding (BF) and neonatal jaundice (NI). The results show that SSC increases several indicators of breastfeeding success, including: increased effectiveness of the first breastfeeding, greater probability of maintaining BF at 4 months, increased BF period on average, greater probability of exclusive BF at 6 months. No greater benefits were found when initiating SSC before 10 minutes, nor when prolonging it for more than 60 minutes. In addition, SSC indirectly decreases the probability of presenting NI, because it increases the frequency of BF, an indicator that is indirectly associated with bilirubin levels in the newborn.

Conclusion: A review of the specialized literature allows us to conclude that postpartum skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has significantly positive effects on breastfeeding and may represent benefits in bilirubin levels in the newborn.

Keywords: skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, bonding, neonatal jaundice