Coming out of a major abdominal surgery might not seem like a time when you’re in your cuddliest mood. But when that surgery is to bring your newborn into the world, it can change your perspective. Aside from wanting to get a head-start on breathing in that new baby smell, scientific evidence suggests that giving parents and their little ones some skin-to-skin time can help improve the baby’s health and mood, increase coping during surgery, and improve breastfeeding outcomes. It’s also a great way to get a head start on bonding.
What skin-to-skin does
Skin-to-skin, sometimes called kangaroo care, means that a newborn is placed naked on the parent’s bare chest. Skin contact against the skin gives the newborn a guide to help regulate body temperature, breathing, and blood sugar, and exposure to bacteria on the skin can help build immune system strength. Skin-to-skin is recommended by both the World Health Organization and UNICEF. In cases of C-section births, their recommendations say skin-to-skin should happen as soon as both parent and baby are stable. For most families, this is immediately after baby is born! Uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact in the 2-3 hours after birth improves breastfeeding rates. C-sections have been shown to correlate with lower rates of breastfeeding, and early skin-to-skin also helps to establish both baby’s breastfeeding reflexes as well as breastfeeding hormones.
Be prepared
Not all hospitals support skin-to-skin contact for parents immediately after a C-section. Of the hospitals and providers willing to facilitate it, only some do so routinely. This means that if you feel strongly about early skin-to-skin, even if you’re not planning on having a C-section, talking to your OB provider about it ahead of time can be helpful. Although it should be a standard part of care after any birth, some parents find they have to advocate for this best practice.
An alternative
Expert opinion and some smaller studies suggest that newborns can get some of the same benefits of early skin-to-skin contact by snuggling up to their non-gestational parent. Skin-to-skin with the parent who isn’t catching their breath after a major surgery still helps with the baby’s temperature regulation and early bonding with a parent, as well as calmness and reduced crying. This alternative can be important for families who are not able to have early skin-to-skin with the birthing parent either due to medical reasons or hospital policy. And it’s also important to know that the benefits of kangaroo care don’t expire. When you’re both able to be skin-to-skin, everyone benefits – even if it is hours or days after the moment of birth.
Especially in hospitals where skin-to-skin isn’t routine, fighting for it can feel harder than it should. Parents who get a little skin-to-skin bonding time after birth tend to feel better about their birth experiences in general, which is a feeling every new parent deserves. Advocating for your own birth experience also helps pave the way for other families to have the same excellent care.
Sources
- Kerstin Erlandsson, et al. “Skin-to-Skin Care with the Father after Cesarian Birth and its Effect on Newborn Crying and Prefeeding Behavior.” Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care.0.1111/j.1523-536X.2007.00162.x. Web. May 29 2007.
- “Strategy 1. Maternity Care Practices.” CDC. Center for Disease Control. Web.
- E.R. Moore, et al. “Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants.” Cochrane Database Syst Rev.Jul-Aug;38(4):430-42. Web. May 2012.
- A. Nolan and C. Lawrence. “A pilot study of nursing intervention protocol to minimize maternal-infant separation after Cesarean birth.” J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. Jul-Aug;38(4):430-42. Web. 2009.
- J Stephens, et al. “Immediate or early skin-to-skin contact after a Cesarean section: a review of the literature.” Matern Child Nutr. 10(4):456-73. Web. Oct. 2014.
- Concepcion de Alba-Romera, et al. “Postcesarean Section Skin-to-Skin Contact of Mother and Child.” J Hum Lact. 30(3): 283-286. Web. August 2014.
