What Is Skin-to-Skin And Why Is It So Important For Your Baby?
Have you ever heard of doctor Nils Bergman? Or Kangaroo Mother Care? Me neither- until I was pregnant. I stumbled over two articles by accident.
The first one was from a couple in Australia. They told their unbelievable story, how they saved their twin baby boy, who was clinically dead. After the doctors told them that they have to say goodbye to their second child, the mother took off her shirt, told her husband to take off his shirt, and to get into the hospital bed and to keep their naked son skin-to-skin. She had known and read about Kangaroo Mother Care skin-to-skin. She realized that this would be their last chance to save their son Jamie. After lying there, all together, skin-to-skin and talking to their newborn, Jamie started to move. Jamie survived. Today he is 10 years old, even though doctors told them that he was already dead.
The second article I read was from Mary Walters, Director of Maternal Child Nursing at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. She told the story of a mother who delivered a term infant who was doing well. The mother started having medical problems though, that resulted in Level 1 Trauma Intensive Care. Within 24 hours of giving birth she had an emergency total hysterectomy and came out of surgery on a ventilator. The prognosis was that she would die. Her blood pressure would not stabilize and her heart rate was wildly tachycardic. When Mary heard about this, she took the healthy term newborn to the unconscious mother knowing that the infant needed to be with its mother, at least once. As soon as the infant was placed in Kangaroo Care, on her belly, she moved both arms to embraced the infant even though she was still unconscious. The baby stayed for two hours and went to her breast. The mothers blood pressure then stabilized and dropped from its abnormal high. Also her heart rate dropped. Realizing this improvement, the infant was brought to the unconscious mother, two times a day, for 2-4 hours. Each time she instinctually brought both arms up to embrace her infant as long as the infant was on her chest. The infant went to her breast and then slept. The mother’s vital signs kept improving day by day. She lived and went home healthy with her newborn.
Nils Bergmann and his wife Jill have been doing research about skin-to-skin for over 24 years. The WHO (World Health Organisation) recommended for the first time in 2012 that skin-to-skin is recommended for at least the first hour after giving birth. So it is your right to stay with your baby (unless it is in danger or you are) after giving birth. All the measuring and weighing can wait!
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. More and more hospitals even support cesarians with immediate skin-to-skin contact after the baby is out.
In the first 8 weeks of life, skin-to-skin contact is the most important stimulant for the development of the brain. Bergmann says that continuous physical contact is an essential requirement if the fundamental structures of the brain are to be developed in a healthy way. I’m certain that by now, we all realize how important skin-to-skin really is.
Skin-to-skin is not only for your baby but also for you and your partner.
Skin-to-skin is one of the most important aspects of care you can give each other. Especially (but not only) when:
- Your baby is premature
- When the mother has postnatal depressions
- When breastfeeding is difficult
- When bonding between baby and parents is necessary
- To reach the optimal body temperature of the baby
- To produce more breastmilk
- (and so on and so on.)
If you think about it in a very natural way, touching and being touched are fundamental ways in which humans interact and also are beneficial to our health and well-being. Babies and children need to be touched almost as much as they need food and water. Unfortunately, we touch and get touched less and less when we become adults. As natural as it is for us to touch our baby, it can sometimes be difficult to touch our partners (especially after a disagreement or a fight). Additionally, there might be stressful times, a new living situation, or no sleep and touching gets reduced- even though it would be more necessary!
Touching activates parts of the brain that are crucial for social bonding. Studies show it reduces stress and blood pressure. Touching also releases oxytocin which is referred to as the love hormone. Oxytocin levels increase during hugging and lovemaking. Life can sometimes seem like a never ending rush- especially with a newborn. So hugging and touching your partner can go a long way toward strengthening a relationship.
Touch more and bring back the spark- not only for your baby but for your partner as well!
-Andrea
Resources and Links
- https://kangaroomothercare.com/about-kmc/
- https://extranet.who.int/rhl/topics/newborn-health/care-newborn-infant/who-recommendation-skin-skin-contact-during-first-hour-after-birth
- https://kangaroomothercare.com/files/documentsword/benefitssscdownload.docx
- https://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=30723
