by
Midwife Andrea Jordan
SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT AT BIRTH,
THE NEW-BORN’S
ANTIDOTE TO SOCIAL DISTANCING!
In our daily lives, social distancing now seems to be the new normal, but I want you to close your eyes for a moment, go within and take some time to picture the beginning of life for your newborn baby; where closeness and connection are of utmost importance. Imagine the new love of your life has just emerged from within you and has been handed to you by the midwife or doctor attending your delivery. That warm, wriggly bundle of love is on your chest directly/skin-to-skin and it feels wonderful to at last meet your sweet baby.
After a little while of this wonderful skin-to-skin contact with your baby after birth, you realise that your brilliant little person is actually attempting to latch onto the breast all by itself! Wow……you are amazed at how spontaneously your little baby has tried to initiate breastfeeding and you relax and enjoy this magical bonding time together.
Closeness, love and connection are literally survival for newborns. Without the opportunity to experience this essential bonding in their first relationships, our babies can experience ‘toxic stress’ which can be very damaging to their subsequent development, particularly if there are repeated events of abuse, neglect or separation in their life. Ensuring that skin-to-skin contact is protected and fostered at birth, is our way of giving our babies that first strong foundation for their well-being, which could be the antidote to the feelings of separation that ‘social distancing’ can bring.
MANY BENEFITS OF SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT AT BIRTH INCLUDE:
• Oxytocin (the chief hormone of birth and love) is released in high amounts which aids bonding and connection with baby.
• The release of oxytocin which will contract the uterus and help the placenta to be released more quickly and control bleeding after the birth.
• Blood flow to the lactating breasts is increased providing significant additional warmth for the newborn and helping the ‘milk to come in’ sooner.
• The parents are able to explore, examine and connect with their new baby in their own time with no interruptions for routine procedures.
• Baby knows immediately who her parents are and feels a sense of safety and security as a result of having them close by.
• Skin-to-skin contact and the initiation of the breast crawl is one of the best ways to positively influence breastfeeding, leaving a powerful imprint on the behaviour of remembering how to find the breast later and latch on.
• The avoidance of ‘toxic stress’ which occurs due to the separation of mother and baby. This can result in negative consequences on the personality and behaviour of the child into adulthood (as researched by Dr Nils Bergman).
• The immediate moments after birth are honoured as being sacred, irreplaceable and a special for time for the new family.
• The immune system being boosted by the baby’s exposure to the bacteria and micro-organisms on the mother/parents skin. Babies (we all, in fact) need exposure to micro-organisms in order for our immune systems to recognise friend from foe and protect us from foe.
The importance of skin-to-skin contact at birth has been extensively researched by the likes of Dr Nils Bergman and Dr Michel Odent. According to theirs and many other researchers’ findings, early stress has health impacts which can be seen across the lifespan of the individual, and this has great impact before, and around the time of birth.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a phenomenon that began in 1979 by doctors in Colombia in response to a shortage of incubators and severe hospital infection.
KMC is an obvious example of the basic human need for touch, and the healing power of our human-to-human connections. With KMC care, a newborn infant (usually premature), who would normally require round the clock nursing care in an incubator, if held skin-to-skin against its mother or someone else for long periods, will actually stabilise its heart rate, blood sugars, breathing, temperature and blood pressure much better than a baby cared for the conventional way, in an incubator.
Skin-to-skin contact is of course not limited to just the mother or mother figure, research also indicates that for father/partner, this will ‘rewire’ their brain for bonding, attachment and future care of their offspring.
Our connection, and togetherness as seen in bonding with our newborns, is essential to humanity’s health and well-being and a robust immune system. This is more so in our time of social distancing than ever before. Make sure it’s part of your birth story, and most of all enjoy it! It’s as close to heaven as it gets.
Andrea Bonita Jordan is a registered Midwife and Breastfeeding Specialist.
In the month of May we celebrate ‘Child Month’ and the ‘International Day of the Midwife’ and we honour the part played by midwives, who continue to contribute to health promotion in our ‘age’ of social distancing.
