SUMMARY: Human lactation is a simple, cost-effective strategy contributing to infant and maternal mortality control. Skin to skin contact (SSC), is an immediate postpartum period strategy that has proven to benefit the initiation and continuation of human lactation and decreased hospitalization during the first week of life. This study aims to determine the effect of the initiation of SSC at birth (immediate vs. early) in healthy, full term newborns treated at Universidad de La Sabana Clinic, on the duration of exclusive human lactation.