Skin to Skin Contact Between Mothers and Their Babies in the NICU and the Effects on Mothers’ Stress & Anxiety

Mothers with infants admitted to the NICU report significantly higher levels of anxiety and stress compared to infants not admitted to the NICU, attributed to the disruption in their instinctual maternal role to hold, care for, and protect their infant. Mothers have to be separated from their neonate who is taken into critical care where they are stabilized which causes deep separation anxiety and other related mental health problems for NICU mothers. Skin to skin contact (SSC) stimulates natural oxytocin release and inversely decreases cortisol levels, heart rate, and blood pressure in these mothers. SSC between neonatal patients and their mothers has been shown to be effective in decreasing anxiety and stress in mothers of NICU patients.