Not like we need convincing to curl up with our squishy little babies, but let’s break down what makes skin-to-skin contact so phenomenal.
We are specifically speaking to skin-to-skin between biological mother and child. This is ideal, however, there are still incredible benefits from skin-to-skin with other caregivers. It is a phenomenal way to foster connection and security.
Mothers and their babies are intrinsically drawn to the other’s touch and skin-skin contact is supportive of both the mother and baby’s health. This touch is intimately correlated to strengthening and supporting development, immune function, temperature regulation, breastfeeding, hormonal balance, and neurobehavior.
When we honor the connection and bond between mother and child we are tuning into primal instincts we as humans innately possess. Infants are solely reliant on the care of their mothers to survive, and while others can step into this role that does not shift the fact that from a physiological standpoint, babies are seeking their mothers, the ones in which they spent the last 9 months growing and developing within.
So— what happens when a baby is placed on the chest of his or her mother? Within the first hour post-birth, this contact regulates a baby’s nervous system, temperature, heart rate, and breathing all while simultaneously stimulating relaxation hormones within the mother and encouraging breastfeeding (especially important for cesarean birth).
After the first hour, skin-to-skin contact offers all of the above benefits while effectively comforting children by reducing stress hormones and even lowering their pain (if they have any). It also reduces the likelihood of a mother experiencing postpartum depression.
Science supports the healing and soothing effects of mothers and infants, however, if we quiet stimulation and external input do we really need their approval? Our bodies yearn for our children, and with good reason. These pulls come from a place of love, instinct, and even survival. If this instinct is absent then something else is at play because from the depths of our beings we as mothers are hard-wired to nurture and care for our infants and children.
Here’s to more support of the mama-baby bonding, and less interference.
Resources:
Skin-to-skin care: heat balance
Parent-Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact and Stress Regulation: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Effectiveness of skin-to-skin contact versus care-as-usual in mothers and their full-term infants
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