Sow responsiveness towards external disturbances and concurrent postural changes are proposed to be an important cause of early piglet crushing. The aim of this study was to assess whether loose-housed sows change their responsiveness over time within the first 24 h after birth of the first piglet upon exposure to human contact and towards piglets? scream. The responsiveness of sows toward direct human contact was lower during the first 12 h postpartum (pp). The careful handling of piglets in the home pen had a minimal effect on the probability of postural changes in sows. However, sows were highly reactive towards the screaming of own trapped piglet during the whole 24 h period pp. The relative lower responsiveness towards playbacks, decreasing from 12 to 24 h pp, cast doubt upon the piglet scream playback test as a useful approach to evaluate maternal responsiveness in sows.