A qualitative study of factors influencing Skin-to-Skin contact practice in Iran

Despite the World Health Organization’s recommendation to start skin-to-skin contact (SSC) with a healthy full-term newborn immediately after birth, this practice is not a common practice in hospitals in Iran. This qualitative study aimed to identify factors influencing skin-to-skin contact practice. Thirty-four care providers [including gynecologists (n = 2), neonatologists (n = 2), anesthesiologists (n = 2), resident gynecologists (n = 4), midwives (n = 14), nurses (n = 10)], and six mothers participated in the study from two teaching hospitals in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually and face-to-face. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using conventional content analysis. Four overarching categories and ten themes emerged from the content analysis of the interviews and observations. The overall categories were procedure (safety, feasibility, decision-making dilemma), individual (knowledge, attitude, behaviors), sociocultural context (social and cultural conditions) and organization (implementation and monitoring, providing executive infrastructure). Care providers and recipients had different perceptions of the factors influencing the SSC implementation. These factors should be considered when implementing SSC.