skin to skin with your newborn
Skin-to-skin contact means holding your baby naked against your skin, usually under your top or under a blanket. Some know this as kangaroo care or kangaroo mother care (KMC) as it sometimes is called in neonatal care units.
When your baby is born, you will be encouraged to have skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible. Your baby will be able to hear the comforting sound of your heartbeat and voice, which will help calm and relax them. It's never too late to start skin to skin, so if you have been separated from your baby because you or your baby were not in good health or maybe your baby was born prematurely whenever you can place your baby, in only a diaper directly on your skin.
Skin-to-skin contact benefits baby through:
regulate your baby's temperature, breathing and heart rate
build your baby's immunity to infections
calms and relaxes both mother and baby
regulates the baby’s heart rate and breathing, helping them to better adapt to life outside the womb
stimulates digestion and an interest in feeding
regulates temperature
enables colonisation of the baby’s skin with the mother’s friendly bacteria, thus providing protection against infection
Benefits you through:
boost your milk supply and stimulate your baby's feeding instincts
you bond with your baby
release the hormone oxytocin – your body's natural feel-good chemical, therefore can reduce the sensation of pain
stimulates the release of hormones to support breastfeeding and mothering.
Skin-to-skin contact also provides benefits for babies in the neonatal unit, in that it:
improves oxygen saturation
reduces cortisol (stress) levels, particularly following painful procedures
encourages pre-feeding behavior
assists with growth
may reduce hospital stay
improves milk volume if the mother expresses following a period of skin-to-skin contact, with the expressed milk containing the most up-to-date antibodies.
Continue having skin-to-skin contact when you're at home, especially in the first few days and weeks (and months if you are happy to continue). It will help calm your baby when they are hungry or upset, and will help your baby form a strong attachment to you.
Watch my YouTube video on this topic!
