Snuggle with Your Baby: Benefits of Skin-to-Skin

In the birth world we talk a lot with expectant and new parents about the benefits of holding babies skin-to-skin. When I was pregnant I didn’t fully grasp, for whatever reason, that it didn’t just mean holding your baby lots, but actually meant what it says – rip off that clothing that stands in between you and your baby and go literally skin-to-skin!

Here are a few of the benefits of skin-to-skin contact:

• Calms your baby – lowers her blood pressure and reduces crying

• Great for baby’s microbiotic health and immune system as baby is populated/seeded with parent’s microflora

• Stabilizes baby’s blood sugar

• Facilitates bonding

• Helps get breastfeeding off to a good start; ideally in the 1^st hour or two after birth

• A breastfeeding mother’s chest is baby’s perfect “warmer” as it heats up warmer than the rest of mom’s body

• Baby adopts parent’s healthy respiratory patterns, contributing to safer sleep and optimal development

A few weeks ago, I had the rare opportunity through NYU Langone Medical Center’s Perinatal Outreach Program to take an all-day class with Dr. Nils Bergman, who is a pioneer in the birth world – specifically on the topic of kangaroo mother care/skin-to-skin benefits. It was fascinating to go deeper into the science behind the importance of skin-to-skin contact.

Dr. Nils Bergman and a bunch of my CEA/MNY childbirth educator colleagues who also attended the all-day conference. I’m in the blue shirt and glasses in front of Dr. Bergman.

I initially wrote a blog post (and compiled my colleagues’ contributions, as well) for educator colleagues, which I will post once it has gone live, but for now I will post a few thoughts that are tailored a bit more for expectant parents.

Here are selected favorite takeaways from the day on the topic:

• Two critical sensory/brain needs of a newborn are smell & contact
• 1^st1,000 days critical for neurodevelopment/brain wiring (this includes the gestational time, so equals the first 2 years of life).
• Maternal absence doubles cortisol (“toxic stress”) levels of the infant
• Baby ideally stays skin-to-skin with breastfeeding mom for the first 1,000 minutes (almost 17 hours); Dr. Bergman writes: “Hospitals that are up to date with best practice and evidence-based medicine will strive to keep mother and baby together for the first hour. The new knowledge from NINO is that the first hour is only the first hour: the first 1,000 minutes is the important time to keep uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and togetherness. 1,000 minutes is over 16 hours, practically speaking the first day and night. “Zero separation” time can be achieved with the help of father or any other family member, but mainly to support the mother to be able to spend as much time as possible with baby. In this way they can synchronise their wake-sleep time, they can learn each other’s body language. The newly fired pathways in both their brains become stronger and coordinated: this is what bonding is actually about.”

Keep in mind that babies are more resilient than we often give them credit for and can bounce back from separation if and when it is necessary. I always want to be careful to stay balanced in these things, as unnecessary guilt is not fruitful for parents or families. Any degree of skin-to-skin snuggling from anyparent or loved one is always going to be beneficial. This Dr. Bergman video points to this.

The standard in many hospitals today is for baby to go straight to mom’s chest in an uncomplicated, vaginal birth. However, I recommend asking your care provider and advocating for this to be the case, if necessary, along with delaying as many newborn protocols for at least the first hour, so you can maximize the time just after birth – the “golden hour” – with lots of skin-to-skin contact.

FURTHER READING / RESEARCH:

Video: Dr. Nils Bergman on Skin to Skin

http://ninobirth.org/

http://www.skintoskincontact.com/home.aspx

http://www.kangaroomothercare.com/

Giving Birth with Confidence (Lamaze) – The Wonder of Mothers: Skin-to-Skin Care

Video: Keep Your Baby with You After Birth

Birthful podcast: Ep. 56, SylviaHouston, Skin-to-Skin

“Nothing an infant can or can not do makes sense, except in light of mother’s body.” – Dr. Nils Bergman

Why I Am Here

Today I’d like to share a little bit about how I got here, how I became motivated to support women and their families through pregnancy, labor, birth.  It’s the way likely the majority of childbirth educators and doulas come about it: through the experiences of having my own babies.

I was fortunate to experience two medication- and intervention-free vaginal births; one in an in-hospital birthing center and one at home.  It’s hard to say whether it was a) the experiences themselves or b) the passionate, inspiring birth professionals I encountered along the way that influenced my heart more in the matter.  On the one hand, birth itself was utterly profound and sacred.  I can’t adequately describe the transformative effects it had on me in becoming a mother both the first and second times.  On the other hand, I believe that without my childbirth educator’s wise words and my doula’s gentle guidance and support, I would have ended up with a totally different, intervention-laden first birth experience.  The first experience gave me confidence and determination to give birth at home the second time, and it went quickly and smoothly in the comfort of my familiar surroundings.  These were the informed choices that were best for me in each birth, and those choices will be different for each woman.

For these reasons, I want to serve women in this way.  Because women and their partners–particularly those who are giving birth in traditional hospital birth settings–can benefit in many ways from support, guidance–need to be given information that will equip them to make smart choices in labor.  They need to be supported in a way that leads to fulfillment in birth.  Education that leads from fear & uncertainty to trust & confidence in the creation of the body and its awesome capabilities.  There is unfortunately so much in the medical-legal environment these days in hospitals that works against laboring women, and we must work hard to strategize ways to prevent unnecessary interventions.  I, in my role as childbirth educator and doula, can assist with these things.  To normalize labor, to normalize birth.  Birth is a natural, beautiful process instead of a medical condition in which we are a “sick” patient.  Let’s remember and honor that.

Welcome to the Birth Matters NYC blog!

Welcome!  Thanks for visiting the Birth Matters NYC blog.  Herein, I plan to post on the topic of labor, childbirth, newborn care, breastfeeding, and quite possibly other early parenting topics.  I do hope to include (as much as possible) local information on these topics for the benefit of my clients as well as any pregnant women/couples & new parents in New York City.


I’d like to get things started with a great tribute to all the new moms or moms-to-be out there (advance warning that #66 is rendered virtually inapplicable to NYC locals):


100 Ways To Encourage a New Mom


My favorites among these great 100 things are:


1. Fold her laundry – especially all the socks
12. Watch Up All Night with her
14. Tell her a day will come when she will sleep again
15. Make her a 2am nursing station on Pandora
92. Tell her motherhood should come with a super hero cape, a really cute one with sparkles
94. Tell her not to sweat everything Pinterest tells her she should be doing, baking, making and crafting for the baby
95. Encourage her to embrace PJ days – even if they last for weeks


Here’s one that’s important to me as a childbirth educator:
30. Don’t imply that breast feeding should be a breezy walk in the park; let her know it’s normal to struggle sometimes getting the hang of it.


Just like being honest about pain in labor, it’s critical to be truthful and let new moms know that, yes, many women (and, yes, babies) do have some level of struggle as they get started breastfeeding.  It’s okay and you just push through.  It will get better with time and practice, and sometimes with the help of a really good lactation consultant or some advice from a helpful La Leche League leader.


And also:
78. Tell her it’s normal to be be smitten with newborn love one minute and weeping with tired the next


I have two thoughts along these lines:

1. Normalizing is something I want to make a habit of doing in my teaching.  When a mom or dad have their first baby, EVERYTHING is new.  This can be fear-inducing, so I want to be a guide along the way who can normalize and re-frame the scary into perfectly peaceful, natural, and healthy processes.
2. On postpartum day 3 or so, your milk will come in and there is a bunch of hormonal-make-you-crazy stuff going on in your body.  This is likely to make you feel like the least adequate and most weepy mom on earth.  You are not alone in this, and remember it should pass (if it doesn’t, see these resources).  Do your best to get some fresh air, and have support around you — especially friends or family with whom you feel entirely comfortable and at ease.

I’m interested to hear what you would add to this list?