skin-to-skinadj.adv.n.
/ˌskɪntᵿˈskɪn/, U.S. /ˌskɪntəˈskɪn/ A. adj.
Involving the contact of one person's skin with another's.In later use, sometimes specifically with reference to contact between a parent and child: see the noun skin-to-skin n.
ΚΠ
1680 G. Dalgarno Didascalocophus Introd. Pneumatology..is Interpretation by Sounds conveied thro the Ear..and Haptology by a mutual contact, skin to skin.
1897 N. Amer. Rev. Apr. 447 Skin to skin infection is impossible, unless the one to be infected has some wound.
1935 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 50 1071 Mode of transmission. Direct skin-to-skin contact with lesions of infected persons.
1992 Independent 18 Aug. 11/6 Having seen the benefit of skin-to-skin treatment on premature babies, she is keen to see it used in standard post-natal care.
2015 S. Boyd Mist of Midnight xii. 132 He wore gloves, I wore gloves, and yet I could feel a frisson of skin-to-skin energy through our hands.
B. adv.
With the skin of one person touching that of the other; very closely, in an intimate, romantic, or affectionate manner.In later use, sometimes specifically with reference to contact between a parent and child: see skin-to-skin n.
ΚΠ
1834 N.-Y. Spectator 28 July 1/3 It was only his broad cloth and linen that prevented our naked hand from resting on his naked shoulder—‘skin to skin’.
1863 E. W. Lane Arabic-Eng. Lexicon I. 207/2 He became in contact with her, skin to skin.
1960 Africa 30 329 He [sc. an infant] is tied..in a little leather sling, skin to skin against the mother's left side, where he can reach her breast.
1995 G. C. Anderson in T. M. Field Touch in Early Devel. iv. 35 Fathers hold their infants skin-to-skin, also.
2015 K. Meader Flirting with Fire 190 I'd like to touch you skin to skin.
C. n.
A method of caring for a baby, esp. a premature one, which emphasizes the importance of holding the naked or partially dressed infant against the bare skin of a parent (typically the mother) for as long as possible each day; = kangaroo care n. at kangaroo n. Additions. Also more fully skin-to-skin care.
ΚΠ
1980 J. Worobey Exper. Enhancement of Maternal Involvement in Mother-Newborn Dyad (Ph.D. diss., Pennsylvania State Univ.) ii. 14 Skin-to-skin 1 hour after birth and rooming-in.
1989 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 89 662/2 A promising method of care for preterm infants is fast becoming well known... In scientific circles, it's called ‘skin-to-skin care’.
1998 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Oct. 967/1 Skin to skin care, also known as ‘kangaroo care’, may be an important approach for countries with limited resources.
2016 P. Simkin et al. Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Newborn (rev. ed.) xix. 400/2 Skin to skin leads to increased milk production.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.adv.n.1680