Negative handling increases the stress for sows, but positive handling can actually increase the sow productivity. However, the studies on positive handling have largely been conducted over a longer time frame, and this study looked at acute positive handling before farrowing. The goal was to determine if acute positive handling can increase sows’ maternal behaviors. Sows were scored out of 6 for confidence 12 days before farrowing, then half of the group received positive handling for the 12 days. Positive handling included giving a sow feed nut, petting neck and head, and quiet talking. The control sows received minimal human contact. Behavior was recorded by video from two days before, to two days after farrowing on 11 high confidence and 11 low confidence sows. There was no difference in nest building behavior, nursing behavior, posture changes or bar chewing between control and treatment sows. Farrowing duration, piglet mortality, and piglet weight gain were likewise unaffected. Although short-term positive handling had little detectable effect, sows with an initial higher confidence score did have shorter farrowing duration, and spent more time resting prior to farrowing. Finally, sows with low confidence scores had reduced fear towards humans when part of the treatment, even after only two weeks of positive handling.