Mother's touch: Skin to Skin contact, the difference between life and death
The Importance of Skin to Skin Contact - The Natural Child Project
There
are now a multitude of studies that show that mothers and babies should
be together, skin to skin (baby naked, not wrapped in a blanket)
immediately after birth, as well as later. The baby is happier, the
baby's temperature is more stable and more normal, the baby's heart and
breathing rates are more stable and more normal, and the baby's blood
sugar is more elevated. Not only that, skin to skin contact immediately
after birth allows the baby to be colonized by the same bacteria as the
mother. This, plus breastfeeding, are thought to be important in the
prevention of allergic diseases. When a baby is put into an incubator,
his skin and gut are often colonized by bacteria different from his
mother's.
We now know that this is true not only for the baby born
at term and in good health, but also even for the premature baby. Skin
to skin contact and Kangaroo Mother Care
can contribute much to the care of the premature baby. Even babies on
oxygen can be cared for skin to skin, and this helps reduce their needs
for oxygen, and keeps them more stable in other ways as well.
From
the point of view of breastfeeding, babies who are kept skin to skin
with the mother immediately after birth for at least an hour, are more
likely to latch on without any help and they are more likely to latch on
well, especially if the mother did not receive medication during the
labour or birth. As mentioned in "Breastfeeding - Starting out Right",
a baby who latches on well gets milk more easily than a baby who
latches on less well. When a baby latches on well, the mother is less
likely to be sore. When a mother's milk is abundant, the baby can take
the breast poorly and still get lots of milk, though the feedings may
then be long or frequent or both, and the mother is more prone to
develop problems such as blocked ducts and mastitis. In the first few
days, however, the mother does not have a lot of milk (but she has
enough!), and a good latch is important to help the baby get the milk
that is available (yes, the milk is there even if someone has "proved"
to you with the big pump that there isn't any). If the baby does not
latch on well, the mother may be sore, and if the baby does not get milk
well, the baby will want to be on the breast for long periods of time
worsening the soreness.
To recap, skin to skin contact immediately
after birth, which lasts for at least an hour has the following
positive effects on the baby:
- Are more likely to latch on
- Are more likely to latch on well
- Have more stable and normal skin temperatures
- Have more stable and normal heart rates and blood pressures
- Have higher blood sugars
- Are less likely to cry
- Are more likely to breastfeed exclusively longer
There
is no reason that the vast majority of babies cannot be skin to skin
with the mother immediately after birth for at least an hour. Hospital
routines, such as weighing the baby, should not take precedence.
Prenatal Yoga Center | Study Finds Benefits For Skin to Skin contact with Newborn
Part
of my job as a doula is to hold a prenatal meeting with the couple IÂm
working with, then type up notes from that meeting and return them to
the couple for review. Over the years I have established a format for
the questions I ask, although I do change them each time according to
the couple’s intentions for their birth. One question that remains
unchanged, though, is this: “Would you like immediate skin-to-skin
contact (SSC)?” Rarely do I hear a parent say no to this question. After
my notes are typed up, I encourage the parents to share these birth
preferences with their care provider  this ensures everyone is on the
same page. The feedback about SSC is generally the same and unless there
is a medical reason, new mothers always get skin-to-skin contact with
their babies. ItÂs no surprise that new parents would want the mother
to hold her delicious new bundle, allow the oxytocin to flow, look
deeply into her babyÂs innocent eyes and fall in love with her child
immediately after giving birth. Additionally, if her baby is interested
in breastfeeding right away, the mother will continue to produce
oxytocin, which allows her to have the contractions that will help expel
the placenta and shrink the uterus.
Despite
these benefits, I usually witness the mother holding baby for mere
moments before that baby is whisked away and placed under the heater,
administered the vitamin K shot and eye drops, weighed, foot-printed,
swaddled and then returned to the mother. Though parents have the option
to postpone these hospital procedures for up to an hour, they often
(unfortunately) take precedence over prolonged and immediate SSC,
delaying the mother receiving her baby by about 30 minutes. During this
time, the mother is delivering the placenta, which can take anywhere
from 5 to 30 minutes, and being stitched up in the event of tearing or
an episotomy. It is possible, as long as everything looks normal and
there is no hemorrhaging, for the mother to keep the baby on her chest
during these procedures and spend time with her baby.
Skin-to-skin contact helps save the lives of Newborn, New Study - News of the World
As
many as 4 million babies worldwide die each year during their first
month of life, and infants born early or at a low birth weight are at
particular risk. Health technologies such as incubators can help improve
outcomes in high-risk infants; however, such equipment is not widely
available in low- and middle-income countries, where 99% of all neonatal
deaths occur.
Lead author Ellen Boundy, SD ’15, who worked on the
study while at Harvard Chan School and is an epidemiologist at the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Chan, and co-authors analyzed
124 studies published between 2000 and 2014 that looked at skin-to-skin
contact as a component of KMC. Some studies included additional care
practices such as breastfeeding and close follow-up in their definition
of KMC.
They found that among newborns weighing less than 2000
grams (4.4 pounds) who survived to receive KMC, there was a 36%
reduction in mortality and 47% lower risk of sepsis or major infection.
Newborns who received KMC also had higher oxygen levels and head
circumference growth, as well as lower pain measures. In addition, KMC
increased the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding at hospital
discharge by 50%. The results were relatively consistent across low-
middle- and high-income countries.
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