The Power of Skin-to-Skin Contact: A Key to Healthy Development
The moment you feel your baby’s soft skin against yours is truly unforgettable and marks the beginning of a special relationship.
Skin-to-skin contact is divine and essential to the bonding between mother and baby. You and your baby can connect and relax in a time of calm and quiet. The power of touch not only helps establish a lasting relationship, but it also has many benefits for your baby’s development and health.
Get to Know You
Early days with your baby can be a time of great love, sharing, and bonding. Touch is a key element in achieving this. This one-on-one contact with your baby helps her to adjust to life outside the womb and calm down. This also reduces stress for mums, as it allows them to relax and become more aware of their baby’s needs and wants. The words you say from afar will mean little to a baby, but the sensation of skin on the skin can create an intimacy between you and your child.
Supporting the Skin
Skin-to-skin is an incredibly nurturing experience for your newborn. And whatever you use on their skin should also be supportive. You want to make sure that the products you choose are as caring for your baby as you are, especially when it comes time to buy nappies. Lovekins Nappy is super absorbent and extra breathable. It’s made from Australian cotton to provide comfort for the delicate skin of your baby.
Calming Down
Skin-to-skin contact is an effective way to calm down your baby and reduce her tears. When you’re upset, who doesn’t like to be cuddled? What about a massage? After a bath, a gentle massage using a baby cream or massage oil will not only relax your baby but also improve her sleep and overall well-being. It is a time for bonding, where both you and your child can enjoy eye contact, giggling and gurgling, and the wonderful feeling of skin-to-skin.
Get Ready for Bed
It can be difficult for both mother and baby to go to sleep alone. Holding your baby and cuddling them will calm your child down and help him to sleep peacefully. Give your baby a soothing, warm bath to relax her and get ready for bed. It will also help care for the delicate skin.
Feelings of Safety
It is important to keep in mind that the world can be a scary place for a newborn baby, and so skin-to-skin touch with mum is very comforting. As you bond and begin to recognize and respond to your baby’s many cues, she will develop an attachment that has enormous benefits in later life. For example, developing fulfilling relationships or feeling confident.
Brain Development
Physical touch is crucial for your baby’s development. According to research, gentle cuddling and caring for your baby can help the brain develop a sense that it owns the body and maintains a healthy self-image. Research shows that early sensory experiences can have a positive impact on the brain and improve overall health and development.
It is good to know that we are providing a service to our children by holding and cuddling them.
Your Newborn’s Skin-to-skin Touch
Skin-to-skin contact is holding your baby against your body, usually underneath your top or a blanket.
You will be encouraged to make skin-to-skin contact with your newborn as soon as you can.
Skin-to-skin Contact Has Many Benefits
Your baby can hear your voice and heartbeat, which helps calm them down.
Skin-to-skin contact is also helpful.
- You can regulate your baby’s breathing, temperature, and heart rate.
- Boost your milk supply to stimulate your baby’s feeding instincts
- You can bond with your child
- Release the hormone oxytocin, your body’s natural feel-good chemical
- Build your baby’s immune system against infections
Skin Contact and Babies with Special Care
You may not be able to hold your newborn immediately if they need special care. The maternity team can help you gently hold your baby’s hand or touch them.
Your baby will feel comforted by any amount of contact. As soon as your child is healthy enough, you can enjoy plenty of skin-to-skin contact.
Skin-to-skin Contact at Home
Keep skin-to-skin contact with your partner at home. This is especially important during the first few weeks and days (and even months, if you wish to continue).
This will calm your baby down when they’re hungry or upset and help them form a strong bond with you.
Skin-to-skin Contact has Many Benefits.
During pregnancy, the babies are closest to their mothers, receiving warmth, oxygen, food, and protection from their bodies. When labor begins, babies are suddenly deprived of these essentials. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact (also known as “kangaroo care” with mothers) are well documented. It is not surprising that studies have shown that babies who are held against their mothers’ skin can feel the warmth and safety of the womb.
Ten Benefits of Skin-to-skin Care.
- Improved Heart and Lung Functions.
After birth, babies go through a dramatic change as they prepare for their first air breaths outside of the uterus. Mothers who hold their babies skin-to-skin tend to help them adapt faster than those who don’t. The heart and breathing rate of these babies tend to be normal and stable. The benefit is the same for preemies and full-term babies. The baby may be familiar with the mother’s breathing and heart sounds after being in utero.
- Stabilisation of Body Temperature.
During pregnancy, the mother regulates her baby’s body temperature by sweating in hot weather and shaking and moving when it is cold. Babies are not yet able to regulate their body temperature after birth. When it comes to keeping an infant warm, the mother’s body works better than an electric warmer. In a study that compared an electric warmer with skin-to-skin care by the father, the mother’s skin, and skincare by the father, it was found that both the mother’s and father’s bodies are better than the nursery warmer. A mother’s skin has a slight advantage over a dad’s skin.
- Blood Sugar Regulation is Important.
Babies use blood sugar for energy. They get glucose from the mother’s breast milk after birth. Low blood sugar can occur if your baby’s needs for glucose (e.g., energy to keep warm) are greater than what his mother’s breast milk or liver can provide. It can lead to him eating poorly, which will exacerbate the issue. A higher level of insulin in the blood of mothers with gestational diabetes increases the risk that their babies will have low blood sugar. The number of babies who are at risk of hypoglycemia is increasing as more mothers develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Skin-to-skin care can help stabilize your baby’s glucose levels.
- Breastfeeding Begins.
UNICEF has produced a fascinating video that shows a baby latching onto his mother’s milk immediately after birth. “Every newborn,” the organization explains, “when placed on her mother’s abdomen, soon after birth, can find her mother’s breast all on her own and decide when to take the first breastfeed.” An alert baby’s instincts can help him locate, latch on, and breastfeed—providing he is in close contact with his mother. Many infants who are in the NICU will receive their first oral feed at the breast.
- Transfer of Good Bacteria
It is impossible to overstate the importance of vaginal births versus caesareans in transmitting good bacteria from mother to baby. The passage through the birth canal allows for the gut of the infant to be colonized by the bacteria from the mother’s vagina. After birth, babies can also be exposed to the bacteria of their mothers through skin-to-skin contact. The bacteria in the vagina, on the skin, and in an isolette in the hospital are all different. Early exposure to these bacteria helps develop healthy bacteria. Early breastfeeding is also supported by skin-to-skin contact. Some of the complex carbohydrates in human milk may be indigestible to newborns, but they are perfect for certain subspecies that protect against harmful bacteria and boost digestion. These good bacteria are believed to protect against allergies. It could even help to decolonize babies in the NICU with Staphylococcus aureus.
- Reduced Crying.
According to studies, babies who have skin-to-skin touch, especially with their mother, tend to cry less. Many refer to a baby’s cry as a “separation stress call,” noting it is a mammalian instinct that can be used to bring the mother to her young. When reunited, babies stop crying during the newborn phase. If we look at the cry from an anthropological perspective, it is understandable that the baby will be less likely to cry if he feels safe and secure with his mother. The mother can be able to provide skin-to-skin care for her child by having the baby “stay in.”.
- Pain Relief is Possible.
The close contact reduces the pain duration. The use of skin-to-skin care is more effective than the traditional oral glucose solution (sugarwater) for pain relief during heel sticks. The longer skin-to-skin contact lasts, the better the pain relief. The longer the skin-to-skin care, the greater the relief. Research is currently being conducted to determine if skin-to-skin care can be beneficial over the multiple painful routine procedures that are necessary in the NICU. Researchers have stated they believe this will work and their work will result in changes in greater implementation in clinical practice.
- Communication Between Mum and Baby is Improved.
Parents can learn more about their baby during the first few weeks after birth. They can look for signs such as signs that indicate hunger or signs that indicate fullness. The mother can learn the baby’s signals faster by having the baby close to her skin. This improves communication, boosts maternal confidence, and helps babies develop a feeling of security and trust.
- Transition from the Womb is Easier.
Skin-to-skin babies are physiologically more stable than those who are placed into a warmer immediately after birth. As indicated by the many factors noted, such as less crying, a lower pain response, and better breastfeeding, they also show better neurobehavioral results. These babies are less stressed as they learn to navigate their new environment. Ruth Feldman, professor of psychology, and neuroscience, and a university located in Tel Aviv, notes that close contact with mothers in the first days following birth is not a choice but a necessity for all mammals. She explains that “Every mammal” must be held and kept close to its mother during the first few weeks and days of life.
- Increased Bonding Between Mother and Child.
In the traditional (if outdated) medical model of birth, mothers were encouraged to place their babies in warmers and have them taken to the nursery to be monitored by nurses while the mother rested in her room. This model has been replaced, and mothers and their babies stay together throughout the hospitalization period, except when a medical condition requires separation. Mothers and babies who are separated from each other after birth have few chances to get to understand one another. Mammals need touch to survive, and skin-to-skin contact allows mothers and babies to use their entire senses when nurturing this vital relationship.
