Skin to Skin contact immediately after birth
The first hour after birth is highly significant for new parents and for the baby who has just transitioned from the womb to life outside.
***Key Points***
Skin to skin contact at birth
- regulates a baby’s heartbeat and
- regulates their breathing rate
- improve oxygen levels in your baby’s blood
- help to maintain your baby’s body temperature
- calms your baby, reduces stress and crying
- helps to establish breastfeeding and makes successful breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age more likely
- we know from premature babies, skin to skin contact increase weight gain and improves outcomes for baby’s born early.
***Key Points***
***Skin to skin***
Skin to skin
Your baby will be placed skin to skin on your chest immediately after a vaginal birth. A warm blanket will be placed over both you and your baby, to keep you both warm. This assists the production of oxytocin and prolactin being produced (essential for bonding and breastfeeding) and assists your baby to regulate their own temperature, heart-rate and breathing.
Your baby has spent months in an environment that is temperature controlled, if they become cold they need to use more energy and oxygen to keep their temperature stable.
They can smell you, hear your heartbeat and the familiar voice from the womb. They are warm and help firmly. Skin to skin is the best place for your baby immediately after birth…your baby will tell you that, and research supports it.
Skin to skin contact at birth
- regulates a baby’s heartbeat and
- regulates their breathing rate
- improve oxygen levels in your baby’s blood
- help to maintain your baby’s body temperature
- calms your baby, reduces stress and crying
- helps to establish breastfeeding and makes successful breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age more likely
- we know from premature babies, skin to skin contact increase weight gain and imporoves outcomes for baby’s born early.
Following a Caesarean birth, ask the Midwife with you to assist you to have your baby has skin-to-skin contact with you as early as possible. In theatre if possible or in recovery.
***Skin to skin***
***Warmth, quiet and calm***
At this time, the mother and baby’s needs are simple: warmth and a quiet, calm environment.
Babies have an innate instinct to seek the breast. Left unaided they will crawl to the breast and attach to the nipple. Swedish researchers in the 1980’s called this the breast crawl. Allow your baby to seek and explore as they initiate the first feed shortly after birth.
Prolonged skin to skin after birth allows you to get to know your baby and this attachment is critical for survival of your newborn baby.
This contact with the mother boosts the baby’s natural immune system. As babies emerge from the near sterile environment of the uterus they come in contact with the bacteria in the vagina and then skin of the mother, This kick starts the baby’s immune system and protects against disease in the future.
***Warmth, quiet and calm***
If birth doesn’t go to plan or there are complications and you are unable to hold your baby or do skin to skin immediately there are still many things you can do to ensure your breastfeeding journey isn’t interrupted. Regularly hand expressing and/or using a pump with the guidance of your midwife will start to initiate your milk supply and still ensure your baby is getting precious colostrum. Being close to your baby, touching them, holding them or being able to look at videos and smell clothing if you are separated from them will still help that magical cascade of hormones starting to work.
