Benefits of Skin to Skin Contact for Babies
Healthier heart and lung function
A mother’s body helps the baby stay warm. During pregnancy, the mother’s regulation of body temperature in hot and cold weather has an impact on the baby. After birth, babies take time to gain that stability and cannot adjust their body temperature.
Increased mental development
Studies have proven that babies who received kangaroo care have better brain function at the age of 15 (when they became adolescents) than those kept in an incubator. The stability in heart rate, respiration and better sleep is known to impact the baby’s brain development directly.
Healthy weight
Skin-to-skin contact dramatically increases weight gain in newborns. The warmth from the parents’ bodies serves as energy to help them put on weight. Moreover, with easy breastfeeding, weight gain tends to happen faster too.
Lesser crying
Studies show that babies who help with skin-to-skin contact are prone to cry less than those separated from their mothers. Some refer to the child’s cry as a separation distress call and a sign for calling the mother back to the baby. It is understandable that the baby feels a lower urge to cry when close to its mother because of the sense of safety and security that comes with the mother’s physical contact.
Benefits of Skin to Skin Contact for Babies
Regulation of lactation
The hormones help the regulation of lactation in the mother. As a result, she produces more milk and can breastfeed successfully.
Ease in breastfeeding
A video made by UNICEF shows a newborn baby making his way towards the mother’s breast and holding on immediately after birth. UNICEF further explained that every newborn could search the mother’s breast all on their own and decide when to first breastfeed. Newborns are instinctive and have a heightened sense of smell and touch. Mothers practicing skin-to-skin contact are more likely to start breastfeeding earlier than mothers who did not.
Reduced stress and blood pressure
Holding the baby skin-to-skin causes the blood pressure and stress levels to lower. Feeling the baby against her skin has a relaxing effect on the mother as much as on the baby. This is caused by the increase in oxytocin, which also restores pre-pregnancy hormone levels, reducing the possibility of post-partum depression.
Better communication with the child
The time after a baby’s birth provides an opportunity to learn from the baby’s behaviour, recognize its needs, and understand signs of hunger, discomfort on account of heat or cold, and signs of fullness. Kangaroo care helps establish this understanding quickly and improves communication with the baby. Babies, too, develop a sense of security which increases the confidence of the mother and father.
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