The Nine Stages of Skin-to-Skin: Practical Guidelines and Insights from Four Countries

What is it about?

Data from Japan, Sweden, Italy and the US reveals worldwide similarities in newborn behavior when skin-to-skin immediately after birth. Building on this foundation, we define the parameters of each of Widström's 9 observable stages to guide clinician behavior change.

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Why is it important?

Despite the robust research and evidence on newborn behavior when skin-to-skin immediately after birth, there is a dearth of research specifically focused on clinical practice. This new paper contributes to the field by examining the worldwide similarities of newborn behavior and progression through Widström's nine stages. The paper also provides a new table to help others conduct research on the 9 Stages of Newborn behavior – “Nine stages for clinical practice: A chart to aid in the understanding of when a stage begins during skin‐to‐skin contact with mother.” This chart can be a tool for Quality Improvement projects and other research.