Effect of Skin-to-Skin Contact on Father-Infant Bonding: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Rationale: Early skin-to-skin contact may facilitate father-infant bonding; experimental evidence in Türkiye is limited.

Design: Interventional, randomized, parallel assignment with three arms:

• Early skin-to-skin contact: a single early skin-to-skin session.
• Frequent skin-to-skin contact: repeated skin-to-skin sessions (e.g., ≥15 minutes per session on most days).
• Standard care: routine postnatal care without a structured skin-to-skin schedule.Participants: Fathers ≥18 years with healthy term singleton newborns.

Assessments: Paternal-Infant bonding is measured using a validated bonding scale at baseline and at a prespecified postpartum time point (e.g., 3 months). Additional baseline questionnaires are collected.

Analysis plan (summary): Group comparisons and exploratory associations will be evaluated per protocol using appropriate statistical tests; full statistical details are provided in the Results section upon completion.

Inclusion criteria

• Fathers ≥18 years old
• First-time fathers
• At least primary school graduates
• Able to provide ≥15 minutes of skin-to-skin contact within 4 hours of birth
• No communication problems
• Co-resident with their spouses
• Infant: single, healthy newborn at 38-42 weeks' gestation and present with the mother
• (If applicable) Infant birth weight between 2500-4000 g

Exclusion criteria

• Fathers who could not be reached during data collection or follow-up
• Separation from the infant for more than one week during follow-up (e.g., hospitalization of the father or infant, long-term work travel)
• Infants requiring special care or with congenital anomalies/serious illness