9 Benefits Skin to Skin Immediately After Birth
Have you heard about the absolute magic of skin to skin?!
Well let me tell ya- immediate skin to skin after birth is something you definitely want to add to your birth plan! And great news- you can almost always get skin to skin at any type of birth (even cesarean birth!) so be sure to make it a top priority.
Here are some of the proven benefits of skin to skin after birth:
Mothers are more likely to be breastfeeding at 1-4 months post birth
Mothers are more likely to bond with their newborns (based on a study that followed up with moms and babies after one year)
Breastfeeding is longer, more effective, and more exclusive for babies who had skin to skin
Mothers are less likely to experience breast engorgement and pain at 3 days postpartum
Mothers are less likely to have anxiety
Mothers are more likely to have satisfaction with their birth experience
Babies have more effective suckling while breastfeeding
Babies are more likely to have stable heart rate, breathing, blood sugar, and oxygen
Babies are 12 times more likely to cry if they do not have skin to skin
Ideal skin to skin starts within one minute of the birth, lasting 2 hours and after the baby has breastfed.
Both WHO and UNICEF recommend that all healthy newborns have immediate skin to skin for at least one hour- regardless of if that baby was born vaginally or by cesarean.
Now, let’s chat about if your newborn is having trouble immediately after birth or needs some help breathing. If you are birthing at home, your midwives will likely leave the cord attached, and help your newborn while they are skin to skin with you. This way they get all the benefits of skin to skin (and one of them is improved breathing)! If you are in a hospital setting it is typically routine for them to help a newborn away from mom, but you can always advocate for something different if that’s what you are wanting in your specific situation.
There are some hospitals that routinely do skin to skin for healthy newborns- this means they do most assessments and newborn screening while the baby is skin to skin with mom, or after the baby has had skin to skin and breastfed. These hospitals are considered “baby friendly”.
Many hospitals will allow immediate skin to skin, even if it is not routine for them. You will likely need to remind them multiple times if it is not typical for the staff (my doula helped me remember to remind the staff at one of my births!)
Along with the many encouraging facts about skin to skin - I can personally attest to the magic of skin to skin. I do it as much as possible with my newborns and little babies, it’s amazing how it calms them down so quickly and encourages beautiful bonding.