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Skin-To-Skin Contact

Indicator Phrasing

% of children aged 0-11 months who were placed in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour
See indicator in other languages

Indicator Phrasing

English: % of children aged 0-11 months who were placed in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour

French: % d'enfants âgés de 0 à 11 mois qui ont été placés en contact avec la peau de leur mère immédiatement après la naissance pendant au moins une heure

Portuguese: % de crianças com idades entre 0-11 meses que foram colocadas em contacto pele-com-pele com as suas mães imediatamente após o nascimento durante pelo menos uma hora

Czech: % dětí ve věku 0-11 měsíců, které byly ihned po porodu přiloženy na obnaženou pokožku matky po dobu alespoň jedné hodiny

What is its purpose?

Skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant shortly after birth is recommended by WHO as an effective practice helping to initiate early breastfeeding and increasing the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding. The indicator assesses the extent to which this practice is used.

How to Collect and Analyse the Required Data

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of mothers of children aged 0-11 months:

 

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Immediately after your youngest baby was born, was her/his naked body placed on your bare chest?

A1: yes / no / does not remember

 

(ask the following question if the previous answer is YES)

 

Q2: For how long did the baby stay placed on your bare chest?

A2: less than one hour / more than one hour / does not remember

 

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of newborns who were placed in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour by the total number of respondents (exclude those who did not remember). Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregate by

Disaggregate the data by the delivery place (home, health centre, hospital), presence of a skilled birth attendant during delivery (present/ absent; use for home deliveries only), location (rural/ urban) and socio-economic characteristics (e.g. level of education).

Important Comments

1) Since mothers might not remember exactly the information your survey is asking about, consider conducting as many interviews as possible in pairs consisting of the mother and a birth attendant/ relative who attended the delivery/ who took care of the mother. While using such an approach will take you more time, it will very likely result in more accurate data.

 

2) This indicator relies on accurate age assessment. Since people often do not remember the exact dates of their children’s birth, the data collectors should always verify the child’s age. This can be done by reviewing the child’s birth certificate, vaccination card or another document; however, since many caregivers do not have such documents (and since they can include mistakes), it is essential that your data collectors are able to verify the child’s age by using local events calendars. Read FAO’s Guidelines (see below) to learn how to prepare local events calendars and how to train data collectors in their correct use.

  

This guidance was prepared by People in Need ©

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