What is skin to skin? 

Skin to skin or kangaroo care is defined as: dress baby down to a diaper, then baby is placed belly-down, directly on your bare chest or tummy. Mother is in a laid back position.

When should I practice skin to skin?

The best time to start skin to skin with your baby is immediately after birth

The golden hour is that first hour post birth that allows your alert baby to be placed on your abdomen and “crawl” towards the breast. Baby can smell, mouth, lick, and eventually latch onto the nipple. This promotes a good breastfeeding relationship as it gets breastfeeding off to a good start.

Oxytocin (hormone for milk production) is released when the baby is placed skin-to-skin on the mother.

Don’t worry- if your baby has already been born and you have not tried skin to skin it isn’t too late! 

Skin to skin can be beneficial long beyond the first hour and should be practiced often. 

Every time you breastfeed, try feeding skin to skin. This will continue to help the breastfeeding relationship, and help with milk supply.

How does it help me and my baby?

Temperature regulation

Bonding

Hormone release

Accelerated lactation

Enhanced brain development for the baby

Central nervous system in baby will mature faster

Promotes better sleep for baby

Decreases stress hormone cortisol

Evidence from science:

WHO recommends “that all healthy mothers and babies, regardless of feeding preference and method of birth, have uninterrupted skin-to-skin care beginning immediately after birth for at least an hour, and until after the first feeding, for breastfeeding women.” (Crenshaw, 2014)

Delaying bathing and allowing the baby to be exposed to the bacteria from the mother set the baby up for increased immunity.

What’s odd is that even with the Breastfeeding Friendly Initiative from the WHO in 1998, there are still so many hospitals that do not protect the initial sacred skin-to-skin time.

Dad or Partner can do Skin to Skin too!

While it is important that the birthing mother have the experience of initial skin to skin with the baby for the first hour or two after birth, partners should try out skin to skin with the baby as well.

By practicing skin-to-skin early on, fathers can promote bonding with their babies that actually last far beyond infanthood (Chen, 2017).

How does temperature regulation work?

Your body will heat up or cool down depending on what the baby needs to regulate their body temperature. So unswaddle that baby and put them skin to skin with you!

What do you think about skin to skin care? Did you see improvements in your baby?

References and further reading: 

Need a breastfeeding course that covers all the basics? We got you here!

The importance of skin-to-skin with baby after delivery

Chen, E. M., Gau, M. L., Liu, C. Y., & Lee, T. Y. (2017). Effects of Father-Neonate Skin-to-Skin Contact on Attachment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nursing research and practice, 2017, 8612024. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8612024

Crenshaw J. T. (2014). Healthy Birth Practice #6: Keep Mother and Baby Together- It’s Best for Mother, Baby, and Breastfeeding. The Journal of perinatal education, 23(4), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.1891/1058-1243.23.4.211