Don’t Separate Us: Skin To Skin For The First Few Months Of Life
This technique has the objective that the first physical impression full of heat favors the initiation of breastfeeding and promotes the bond between mother and baby. However, many studies recommend that we continue to practice this method continuously.
Neonatology specialists call it the “kangaroo mother method”. In the early 1970s, Bogotá had an extremely high mortality rate. It was then that it was discovered that
something as simple as placing the newborn on its mother’s chest significantly increases the survival rate of babies.
With the method, an improvement in heart rate, breathing pattern and oxygen saturation was observed. Seeing the efficiency of the kangaroo mother method (named after the way marsupials carry their babies in their purses), this practice soon spread to hospitals in the US and then around the world.
However, there is an aspect to be considered. People often talk about the benefits of skin-to-skin contact during the first hours of life and that it is an extremely suitable technique for premature babies. However, we must not forget an interesting aspect: by extending the “kangaroo mother method” during the first months of life, we further favor the bond with our child and adequate maturation.
Skin to skin to receive the newborn
They say there is nothing quite as mysterious as birth. If we take a moment to look back and try to remember our own birth, we realize that everything is pretty nebulous. We can not do it. However, many neurologists and neonatologists indicate that birth can be very traumatic and can even leave marks.
Imagine: we are in a quiet and safe environment and we are pulled out of there, sometimes, abruptly. Then several hands start manipulating us, cutting the umbilical cord and cleaning us, while we just want to know where she is. Where is this mother that not so long ago we were part of?
The first hour after birth is sacred and belongs to the mother and child. It is an essential protocol that all hospitals should implement, for the following reasons:
Benefits of the “kangaroo mother method” after childbirth
- More harmony and less stress are provided in the transition from fetal life to the outside, to our world. It’s a warmer and more loving welcome.
- One of the greatest benefits found in skin-to-skin contact is the improvement in the rate of oxygen saturation and the regulation of the baby’s body temperature.
- We must also not forget that the negative effects caused by separation between mother and child are reduced. This all-too-common factor puts a high level of stress on a baby’s brain. This is something that can be avoided in a very simple, wonderful and welcoming way as putting the main protagonists in skin-to-skin contact.
- Furthermore, babies are born with the instinctive ability to find the breast and thus initiate breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin contact promotes this natural behavior that should start at birth.
- Even if the work was done by cesarean, it is necessary to put into practice the kangaroo mother method. However, we all know that this is not always put into practice in hospitals. After a C-section, it is very common for the baby to be taken to the nursery and the mother to the bedroom. This is something that should be improved if conditions are favourable, of course.
Skin to skin during the following months and also with the father
The power of the heat of the skin, of the smell, of this warm and welcoming approach, where two hearts beat together, is like nothing else. Babies don’t just need breast milk or a bottle to grow in harmony and happiness. Food is not everything.
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To grow in a healthy way, you need contact, care and security.
A caring environment is the most incredible tool to promote the neuronal connection of a brain that is building its reality based on the sensations and perceptions offered by the world.
- So why deprive a child of contact with our skin if that is what helps most to regulate stress and feel secure? Breastfeeding itself generates this union and this exceptional bond. But if the family wants, this contact can be extended for months.
Skin-to-skin contact, whether from the mother or the father, is known to improve a child’s cognitive abilities. At the same time, it also encourages emotional maturity. Therefore, it is worth providing it involving our partners or even – and why not? – older brothers if possible. To do this, just follow these tips:
How to put the kangaroo mother method into practice
- We have to uncover the chest, taking off the shirt or the bra.
- The baby can have a diaper and a beanie if we want.
- We put the baby on top of us in an upright position and covered it with a blanket.
- We let the baby rest. This is his time, your time. Enjoy the here and now and listen to your little one’s breathing.
- It would be appropriate to do this between 4 and 5 hours a week.
Don’t hesitate to extend the skin-to-skin experience as much as you like and possible.
