This diagram shows the algorithm for determining whether skin-to-skin care was provided in the first hour after birth. Skin-to-skin contact must be “immediate, continuous, and uninterrupted.”

Healthy Children Project’s Kajsa Brimdyr spoke to care providers in Helsinki, Finland, at the The Finnish Baby-Friendly Trainers Association’s Networking Days Conference on Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Dr. Brimdyr joined the conference attendees over ZOOM and spoke about the importance of skin-to-skin contact as a reinforcer of baby-friendly behavior. In keeping with the conference theme of “Back to Basics,” the Dr. Brimdyr talked about zeroing in on skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth using the implementation algorithmdeveloped by Healthy Children Project in 2017. “My focus was on using the algorithm to understand the successes and challenges of what’s actually happening in relation to skin-to-skin contact after birth… immediate, continuous, uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact where babies successfully go through the 9 stages,” Dr. Brimdyr said.