Skin to skin with baby, what are the benefits?
Skin-to-skin contact involves placing the baby right against you from the very first minutes of life : naked (or in a diaper), the newborn enjoys the warmth of your body for a tender moment that forges the first mother-child bonds.
This practice, which has become widespread in delivery rooms, offers numerous benefits for both mother and newborn, and can be continued even after birth – and with the father (or the other mother) ! Let's take a closer look at skin-to-skin contact and its advantages for both baby and parents.
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All the benefits of skin to skin
Benefits for baby
- Skin-to-skin contact helps regulate body temperature : after spending 9 months in amniotic fluid at 37°C, birth is experienced as a real thermal shock for the infant. Result: he must learn, in his first days of life, to regulate his temperature. By placing your baby against your chest, you allow him to benefit from your warmth. Better: your body adapts and even has the capacity to cool your little one, for example if he has a fever. Skin-to-skin therapy originated in South America in the 1980s. Lacking incubators, maternity staff realized that young mothers had the ability to warm their newborns . In France, skin-to-skin treatment is systematically offered after childbirth if the condition of the mother and baby allows it. You will stay one or two hours with your child against you, to warm him up... and contemplate him!
- This technique helps reduce the stress linked to birth. In his mother's womb, baby was in his little cocoon, childbirth suddenly brings him into a world he does not know, full of stimuli: new sounds, new textures, light... Placed against your bust, he feels safe. It recognizes your heart rate, the back and forth of your breathing and finds a familiar environment.
- It stimulates the child's immune system : by soaking up your bacterial flora, which represents "good bacteria" for him, baby learns to build his own immune defenses.
- Skin-to-skin makes breastfeeding easier : studies show that babies benefiting from skin-to-skin contact instinctively find the right movements and the right way to breastfeed.
- Finally, skin to skin helps stabilize blood sugar levels, heart rate and breathing in newborns.
The benefits for the mother
We often talk about the benefits of skin to skin for babies, but let's not forget the benefits it also has for you! It stimulates the secretion of oxytocin and endorphin , the well-being hormone, which helps to forge the bond with this little being. You feel more confident, more zen in your new role. Skin to skin also stimulates the flow of milk, thus promoting a good start to breastfeeding.
Finally, it accelerates postpartum recovery by promoting the expulsion of the placenta and reducing the risk of hemorrhage.
Continue skin to skin after birth
If your child is premature, you will be advised to practice skin-to-skin contact as much as possible during your neonatal visits. This is what we call the “kangaroo method”, it has proven itself to help babies born prematurely to eat well (and therefore to gain weight) and to feel reassured when their mother is not staying in the same place as him.
If you had a typical birth and returned home a few days later, you can absolutely continue skin-to-skin care at home ! This habit will help baby get quality sleep. Reassured, babies accustomed to skin to skin also tend to cry less on a daily basis.
You can sit in your bed or on an armchair, with a blanket if necessary, or opt for a sling to hold baby close to you. Make sure your baby's airway is clear and place him or her safely if you doze off.
How long should you practice skin-to-skin care after childbirth? Well there aren't really any rules, and it all depends on your constraints, your personal desires and the child's attitude. You can continue for several weeks after birth if baby seems comfortable and enjoys these times.
Skin to skin is also with Monsieur!
And your companion in all this? Well he can (and it is even recommended) take over to practice skin to skin with baby! Even if the sensations will be a little different than those experienced in the mother's womb, the infant will benefit from skin to skin, whether it is practiced with his mother or his father!
Moreover, if you are not able to receive your baby after childbirth (for example after a cesarean section or general anesthesia), your husband will be asked to fulfill this role. In the Kangaroo unit, both parents are invited to practice skin-to-skin contact as much as possible.
New dads can sometimes feel less involved than you: they didn't carry the baby, and these nine months of pregnancy may have been less concrete for him than for you. Skin-to-skin contact is an excellent way to build the parent-child bond and support you on a daily basis! By involving your partner, you can rest, read a few pages, or take care of your skin.
Discover without delay our range of face and body treatments for pregnant women and new mothers, which will accompany you before and after the birth of your baby.
Photo credit: @monpremiersouffle, @maureenayden (Instagram)
