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.