• J Smith, F Plaat, and N M Fisk.
• Division of Maternity, Directorate of Women's and Children's Services, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, London, UK.
• BJOG. 2008 Jul 1;115(8):1037-42; discussion 1042.

AbstractAlthough much effort has gone into promoting early skin-to-skin contact and parental involvement at vaginal birth, caesarean birth remains entrenched in surgical and resuscitative rituals, which delay parental contact, impair maternal satisfaction and reduce breastfeeding. We describe a 'natural' approach that mimics the situation at vaginal birth by allowing (i) the parents to watch the birth of their child as active participants (ii) slow delivery with physiological autoresuscitation and (iii) the baby to be transferred directly onto the mother's chest for early skin-to-skin. Studies are required into methods of reforming caesarean section, the most common operation worldwide.

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