Initial handling of newborn infants by vaginally and cesarean-delivered mothers.

The pattern of newborn handling by 36 cesarean-delivered women and 36 vaginally delivered women was studied during their infants' first postpartum bedside visit. The research hypothesis predicted that the initial pattern of handling newborn infants would be different for the two groups of mothers. However, the pattern was found to be similar for the time it took both groups to initiate using their fingers, palms, arms, and trunks, as well as the sequence of use of these body parts, although neither group followed the sequence of handling reported in the bonding literature. The two groups did differ in the frequency and amount of handling of the infants: the cesarean mothers handled their infants significantly less, possibly due to the effects of fatigue and discomfort. In addition, the presence of the infant's father in the cesarean group had a significant effect of decreasing the frequency and amount of maternal handling. No such effect was found in the vaginally delivered group.