Skin to Skin in the First Hour
By Marie McCausland, PhD, MPH, CLC
When I was pregnant with my first son I remember hearing about “skin-to-skin” but I didn’t really understand just how great it can be until I recently took a course on lactation/breastfeeding.
This article is going to explain 3 things:
1. What is skin-to-skin?
2. How skin-to-skin can support your breastfeeding journey.
3. How skin-to-skin can help keep baby warm in the Operating room during/after a C-section.
What is Skin-to-Skin?
When we talk about Skin-to-skin, we mean placing baby on you with nothing in between (meaning clothing). This includes the birthing parents, non-birthing parents, moms, dads, siblings. Anyone can do skin-to-skin!
When you are doing skin-to-skin, you want your baby to be wearing nothing but their diaper.
This is my son Jeffrey when he was only a few weeks old wearing one of the many cloth diapers I used with him.
Then place your baby on your chest, without anything between you and baby including a bra.
This will ensure maximal contact between you and baby. This was taken when Jeffrey was only 5 days old, the day before I ended up being diagnosed with Postpartum Pre-Eclampsia. You can see how swollen my eyes and face are in this picture. I remember taking this picture and thinking “Oh wow my lips are so plump! It’s like I have lip filler!” Yeah that was a sign!!!
How can skin-to-skin support your breastfeeding journey?
When it comes to skin-to-skin, the benefits are huge especially if initiated in that first hour after birth. Skin-to-skin at anytime is wonderful, and we recognize that not all births will allow for you to do skin-to-skin in that first hour, especially if there is an emergency for the birthing individual or the baby. If that occurs, just try to do as much as possible in those first few weeks!
If you want a full list of benefits check out this website. These benefits include:
1. Stabilizing baby’s temperature
2. Introducing good bacteria to boost their immune system
3. Helping support a good breastfeeding relationship
I want to talk a little about that last one! In that first hour, your baby will begin to sense its surroundings and explore, including looking for food. Did you know that there are glands on your areola (darker area surrounding your nipple) that secrete an oil with a smell that is similar to that of amniotic fluid? This smell will comfort your baby and draw them towards the nipple. If you have on a shirt and a bra it is harder for them to smell it.
This also allows them the chance to try to begin to latch for the first time. It is much easier to get to your nipple when there isn’t anything between them.
How skin-to-skin can help keep baby warm in the Operating room during/after a C-section.
Did you know you can do skin-to-skin in the operating room?!?
Taken from Evidence Based Birth :
”To summarize, the benefits of early skin-to-skin care included:
For mothers:
Longer and more effective breastfeeding; more likely to exclusively breastfeed
Less breast engorgement/pain at three days
Less anxiety three days after birth
Higher satisfaction—mothers were six times more likely to want the same care in the future when they held their babies skin-to-skin rather than swaddled.
For babies:
More effective suckling during the initial breastfeeding session
Less crying– babies who received skin-to-skin care were 12 times less likely to cry during the observation period
Heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels were more likely to remain stable
A beneficial increase in blood sugar”
With these types of results, many hospitals are instituting skin-to-skin in the OR, but you may have to ask your physician specifically for this to occur. In some instances, where there is an emergency for the baby or the mother this may not be feasible because there needs to be immediate emergency care provided.
Overall, skin-to-skin, especially in that first hour has been shown to really help parents bond with their babies, helps the breastfeeding journey, and helps babies overall. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at info@digidoula.com and join our facebook group for more content!