Sweet Pea Needs Skin To Skin
Yippee! Your precious babe is here! The golden hour is described as one of the most magical and euphoric moments someone experiences; no matter how many babies they’ve had. After your babe comes earthside, pulling them up to your chest (or tummy if the umbilical cord is too short) doesn’t only give you one of the biggest bursts of oxytocin ever, but it also holds many benefits. Before getting into it, I want to acknowledge that it isn't always possible to do immediate skin to skin if there is some kind of health concern with the parent or baby. On the flip side of that, the warming table is only truly needed for emergencies and then exams at least an hour after the baby is born. Cutting the cord, suctioning fluid from baby’s lungs, stimulating baby and wiping the baby can all happen from the birthers chest. So, as long as everyone is dandy, skin to skin can happen! In the very early stages of life, “somatosensory processing” is a vital way that babies learn about their new world. Somatosensory processing essentially just means that our brains have the ability to process external information through our 5 senses. For infants and young children, touch is the first sensation they become aware of and it’s very important for their development. Immediate skin to skin nurtures the baby’s ability to sense safety and trust, leading to many other positive outcomes within their development.
Some of the benefits of skin to skin are:
-Enhanced breastfeeding
-Regulates baby’s heart rate helping them adapt to the world outside the womb
-Improves physical health including cardiovascular and respiratory systems
-Improves healthy bonding between parent and baby
-Helps babies process external information
-Regulates temperature
-Stimulates digestion and interest in eating
At your birth, your doula can help remind your doctor that immediate skin to skin is part of your birth plan (if it is). For the first 3 months of your baby’s life (and 6 months for premature babies), it's important to do skin to skin as much as possible to help instill all of the benefits listed above and to have that sweet time with your new baby.
I hope this was helpful!
To learn more about the benefits of skin to skin, follow this link.
