ABSTRACT
Objective: to analyze how skin-to-skin contact occurred in a municipal maternity hospital in Metropolitan Region II of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of obstetric nurses. Method: a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study with seven obstetric nurses. The information was collected via Google Forms® and subjected to the thematic analysis proposed by Bardin. Results: two categories emerged: “maintenance of skin-to-skin contact and medical decision influence” and “evaluation of flu syndromes and COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, interfering in the process of skin-to-skin contact”. Conclusion: the maintenance of skin-to-skin contact was linked to the recommendations of official protocols. The power of medicine influenced teamwork, directed by the use of procedures, during labor and birth, which, in a way, limited the respective practice in suspected cases for COVID-19. © 2022 Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing