Can dads do skin-to-skin with a newborn?
Yes. A dad or partner can hold the newborn bare chest to bare chest, with a blanket over you both, using the same safety rules as the mother. It matters most when the mother can't hold the baby yet, such as after a cesarean or when she's drowsy after labor. Your baby already knows your voice, so talk while you hold them.
On this page
Yes, and sometimes it's your turn first
Skin-to-skin isn't reserved for the person who gave birth. A good birth plan says "skin-to-skin right after birth, with the baby on my chest, and on my partner's if I can't." There are three common moments when the partner steps in:
- After a cesarean, if the mother can't hold the baby yet. The partner can do skin-to-skin until she's ready.
- When the mother gets drowsy. After labor she probably will. Take the baby onto your own bare chest instead of letting her doze with the baby on her.
- When she needs medical care first. Your baby can wait on your chest instead of in a cot.
The goal is that your baby spends the first hour on a warm, awake person rather than waiting in a cot. Read more on why skin-to-skin matters.
What the research does and doesn't say
Honesty first. The big skin-to-skin trials studied mothers and their healthy newborns. Compared with babies wrapped and placed in a cot or warmer, babies on their mother's chest were warmer, cried less in one small trial, and were more likely to be breastfeeding months later. Those trials didn't test fathers, so we can't give you dad-only numbers.
What birth guidance does say is practical: when the mother can't hold the baby, the partner can. Use it as the backup that keeps the first hour close, not as a competition. If the mother wants to breastfeed, the baby goes back to her chest for the first feed as soon as she's ready.
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Your voice is already familiar
Your baby has been listening to you. In a small Canadian study at Queen's University, fathers read a different story aloud to the bump every day for a week. Back in the lab, the babies' heart rates rose to recordings of their father's voice, just as they did for their mother's.
After birth, newborns still tend to turn toward Mom's voice. That makes sense: they've heard her from the inside for months (see why newborns know their mother's voice). Don't be offended. Dad's voice gets its turn in the weeks of holding, rocking and talking that follow. So while your baby is on your chest, say hello. Hum something. Tell them who you are.
You can start before the birth. Talk, read and sing to the bump, and pick a story you'll keep reading after the baby arrives. There's more on how dads can bond during pregnancy, from appointments to protecting the mother's sleep.
How to hold your newborn safely
The rules are the same for every chest:
- Take off your shirt. Baby goes tummy-down on your bare chest, head turned to one side.
- Nose and mouth visible, chin not tucked down.
- Blanket over your baby's back, below their face.
- Sit propped up rather than lying flat.
- Stay awake. If you start to doze, hand the baby to someone awake or ask a nurse to place them on their back in the bassinet.
If your baby's color turns pale, gray or blue, or they go limp, call a nurse at once. At home, the same goes for the sofa: never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair. The AAP says that setup carries up to 67 times the risk. If you feel drowsy, put your baby on their back in their own flat, firm sleep space with nothing else in it.
The partner's five jobs in the first hour
- Hold the plan. Have the birth-plan page with you. When the baby arrives, say it once, calmly: "We're waiting until the cord stops pulsing, if baby is OK."
- Watch the cord. Tell the midwife when it looks white and limp.
- Guard the hour. If someone wants to weigh or bathe the baby, ask, "Can that wait until after the first feed?"
- Be the safety lookout. Keep the baby's face visible. If the mother gets sleepy, take the baby onto your own bare chest.
- Talk. Say hello. Take one photo, then put the phone away.
The golden hour page explains what can wait and what shouldn't be skipped.
Keep it going at home
Skin-to-skin and holding don't end at the hospital door. In the weeks after, you can take the burping, changing and settling if the mother is breastfeeding, and take turns on feeds if you're bottle-feeding. Every one of those is face-to-face time. Narrate a diaper change, pause, and answer whatever your baby does.
Dads bring their own style later on, too. A University of Cambridge review of 78 studies found that fathers' play with children up to age 3 tends to be more physical, and in almost all studies it was linked to children's later ability to manage their feelings. Words count too: in a Pennsylvania study, the variety of words fathers used with their 2-year-olds was linked to the children's language a year later. One study, and a link rather than proof, but an easy habit: say "excavator," not "truck thing."
Look after yourself as well. About 1 in 10 fathers get depressed around a birth, and more in the months after. If you feel flat, irritable or numb for weeks, tell your doctor. If you ever think about harming yourself, call or text 988 (US) now.
Do this
- Ask that your birth plan names you as the backup for skin-to-skin.
- Pack a shirt that opens easily, or plan to take yours off in the delivery room.
- Practice the five first-hour jobs out loud before labor starts.
- Hand the baby to someone awake, or to the bassinet on their back, the moment you feel sleepy.
When to ask your doctor
Check with your doctor or midwife first if…
- your baby may be born early or is in the NICU, so the nurses can show you how
- your baby needed help breathing at birth
- you feel very tired or have taken anything that makes you drowsy
Call your doctor now if…
- your baby's color turns pale, gray or blue, or they go limp (call a nurse at once)
- your baby has trouble breathing
- your baby is floppy or hard to wake
- your baby under 3 months has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher
This page is general information, not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every child is different. Ask your doctor, midwife or pediatrician before changing supplements, diet or care.
Grow a Genius
In the book: Chapter 15: The First Hour
Chapter 15 gives partners a five-job checklist for the first hour, and Chapter 5 shows what dads add after birth, from the words they use to the way they play.
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People also ask
Is skin-to-skin with dad as good as with mom?
The large skin-to-skin trials studied mothers, so there are no dad-only numbers to compare. What guidance says is simple: if the mother can't hold the baby, the partner can, with the same safety rules. If the mother plans to breastfeed, the baby goes back to her for the first feed when she's ready.
Can dad do skin-to-skin after a C-section?
Yes. If the mother can't hold the baby yet after a cesarean, the partner can do skin-to-skin until she's ready. Ask your hospital ahead of time whether this can happen in the operating room or recovery area, and write it on your birth plan.
Will my baby bond with me if mom does all the feeds?
Yes. Feeding is one way to be close, not the only one. Your baby heard your voice in the womb, and your turn comes in the holding, rocking, burping, changing and talking that fill the early weeks. Later, fathers' more physical play is linked to children managing their feelings.
How do I do skin-to-skin safely as a dad?
Shirt off, baby tummy-down on your chest, head turned to one side, nose and mouth visible and chin not tucked. Keep a blanket over their back below the face, sit propped up and stay awake. If you get sleepy, move your baby onto their back in their own sleep space.