The power of skin to skin with the baby
Doing skin-to-skin from the birth of the baby is essential for his health since he arrives in our world.
During pregnancy, babies are as close to their mother as possible, inside her! They get the warmth of the mother’s body, the food, the protection, and the oxygen they need. Then it is time for delivery and the babies are without immediate access to their essential needs. Babies experience great stress at birth because they arrive in a world totally unknown to them.
There are numerous studies that make it clear how skin-to-skin is necessary for babies. Babies when they feel their mother’s skin next to their skin, they can be as close and receive heat and protection much like when they were in her womb. It is necessary to know what the benefits are to be able to enjoy these magical moments with so much power.
The first investigations spoke about the benefits of skin to skin just two hours after the baby is born, but there are recent studies that show that skin to skin after and during the first months of the child’s life, increases their health considerably.
Index
THE POWER OF SKIN TO SKIN
The power of touch is good for the baby and also for the mother or father. Whenever possible, mothers and babies should be in direct contact immediately after birth. When left uninterrupted, the baby will go through the nine instinctive stages in which the baby will move to the breast, find the nipple area, latch on, and nurse on its own – this is instinctive for the baby and will lead to the natural breastfeeding .
The mother or father can do skin to skin at any time, the ideal is to be in a room with a suitable temperature and do skin to skin directly, without clothes. It can be done when the baby is taking a nap , while doing it on top of you. Other moms or dads prefer to do a carry at home while doing skin-to-skin.
To do this, the mother or father should wrap the carrying wrap around the baby and their body, keeping the baby in an upright position between their breasts. If the mother cannot do the skin-to-skin because she has complications after the part, then the father will have to do it. The power of skin to skin makes both the baby and the parent relax and feel a special bond. The baby’s body temperature, breathing, and heart rate stabilize.
SKIN-TO-SKIN BENEFITS
Skin-to-skin improves heart and lung function. Babies go through a very stressful transition after birth as they prepare to take their first breaths of air outside the womb. Those who experience skin-to-skin tend to adjust earlier than those who don’t. They also tend to have more normal and stable heart and breathing rates.
It also provides a stabilization of body temperature. During pregnancy, the mother maintains her baby’s temperature. After birth, babies have not yet acquired this ability, so they cannot adjust their own body temperature. A mother who has just given birth has a warmer-than-normal breast temperature and has the ability to rise or fall a couple of degrees in response to her baby’s chest temperature. This regulation occurs automatically by the mother’s body in response to her baby’s temperature.
Also, babies who do skin-to-skin with their mother or father will feel less pain and will also reduce crying. They will feel more secure and protected all the time, something that is critical to their future good health.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.