Summary•A study group of 50 low‐risk primigravidae of normal stature delivered by emergency caesarean section during the course of labour were compared with a closely matched control group of 50 primigravidae delivered vaginally.•Data for the purposes of the study was collected from a number of sources including semi‐structured interviews on the 3rd or 4th postnatal day and 6 months after the birth.•Women delivered by emergency caesarean section took significantly longer than those delivered vaginally to feel close to their infants and these differences persisted for several months.•Contact between women delivered by caesarean section and their babies was found to be restricted in the 24 h following caesarean delivery.•This paper focuses on maternal‐infant attachment following delivery, and discusses some of the implications of the findings for mid