Skin-to-skin contact with your baby and why it matters

The skin-to-skin contact with your baby right after birth or a caesarean section brings a host of benefits, and it is also one of the most influential practices for getting breastfeeding off to a good start. That is why our team of midwives at Happymami has put together this post on skin-to-skin contact with your baby and why it matters, with everything you need to know

The importance of skin-to-skin contact

If your baby is born healthy and you as a mum want it, your baby will be placed skin-to-skin with you immediately after birth or the caesarean section. Over the past forty years, various studies have clearly shown how important it is to care for mothers and babies as an inseparable biological unit, especially in the first hours after birth, and to encourage uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact during those hours.

What does skin-to-skin contact involve?

Skin-to-skin contact means placing your baby naked (they may keep their nappy on) on your chest and abdomen, which should also be bare. Your baby's arms should be at both sides of the body and must not be trapped underneath, and their mouth and nose must be uncovered and easily visible. Finally, cover their back with a blanket, a hat and, if you like, a nappy.

You can adopt a semi-upright position (15º – 65º) that helps keep your baby's airway clear and allows eye contact. This is how breastfeeding will begin.

During skin-to-skin contact, keep an eye on your baby's breathing, colour and temperature, and talk to your midwife about any sign you think is unusual. Your midwife will most likely be watching over you without you noticing, respecting your privacy, so that you do not feel too observed and your moment is not interrupted.

What is more, the recommended length of this first contact, if you as a mum want it, should be 120 minutes, or for as long as you decide.

It is also important that you have someone with you during this immediate postpartum period. And after these 2 hours, your baby will be given prophylaxis and the appropriate measures will be taken.

Benefits of early skin-to-skin contact

Skin-to-skin contact is very important because it creates many benefits for you and your baby. That makes it a very interesting practice to bear in mind.

Benefits for your baby

• It helps maintain body temperature while encouraging the start of the emotional bond and a good start to breastfeeding.
• It is associated with higher body and skin temperatures and faster metabolic adaptation. Some authors call it “thermal synchrony” between mother and baby. The baby stabilises sooner and uses less energy.
• It helps the mother’s flora colonise your baby
• Your baby cries less.
• Synchronised regulation of breast-milk composition.
• Physiological changes bringing calm, tranquillity and pleasure, better sleep, a lower stress response and a greater desire for social interaction.
• It strengthens social memory and helps your baby feel calm.
• It reduces pain.

Benefits for the mother

Skin-to-skin contact creates sensory stimuli such as touch, warmth and smell, which are a powerful vagal stimulant that, among other effects, releases maternal oxytocin, which:

• Stimulates uterine contractions.
• It controls the release of milk.
• It redistributes your body heat to warm your baby. It can raise the temperature of your chest by up to 2 degrees or lower it by 1 degree.
• It helps the body to make use of stored nutrients.
• It increases your ability to absorb nutrients during digestion.
• It lowers your blood pressure and your stress hormone levels.
• It counteracts the fight-or-flight response, which reduces maternal anxiety and increases calm and social receptiveness.
• It encourages a greater interest in closeness in the mother, stimulates nurturing behaviours and strengthens the mother-child bond.
• It reduces sensitivity to pain.

Conclusion: skin-to-skin contact with your baby and why it matters

As a final curiosity, it is worth knowing that one of the quality standards for the IHAN (Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative) is that: 80% of mothers of full-term babies report that their babies were placed in skin-to-skin contact immediately or within the first 5 minutes after birth and that this contact lasted at least 1 hour or longer, unless there are medical reasons to delay contact. As we always tell you at Happymami, every baby and their mum are unique, and we have to accept that every situation will be different when it comes to doing skin-to-skin.

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