Early Skin-to-Skin Contact

Skin-to-skin means your baby is placed belly-down, directly onto your chest, right after he/she is born. The first hours after birth are a very important time for you and your baby to get to know each other. If you or your baby are medically unstable at delivery and require intensive care, immediate skin-to-skin contact may not be possible. You and your baby’s well-being is our priority.

Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Include:

• Baby is able to maintain a warmer body temperature
• Baby is able to stabilize heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure faster
• Your baby has higher blood sugar
• Baby is less likely to cry

Skin-to-skin contact will help you bond with your baby.

Research has shown that moms who practice skin-to-skin at delivery and after-touch and cuddle their babies more. They are also better able to respond to their baby’s cues and needs.

Snuggling gives you and your baby the best start for breastfeeding.

Research has shown that babies placed skin-to-skin after birth breastfeed better and longer. Keeping your baby close, especially during the first days after delivery, makes it easier to know when and how often to feed.

Skin-to-skin is beneficial beyond delivery.

It is best to keep cuddling your baby skin-to-skin even after you leave the hospital. Your baby will stay warm and comfortable on your chest, and the benefits of bonding, soothing, and breastfeeding will likely continue well after birth.

Delayed Bathing

It is best to wait at least 24 hours to give your baby a bath. If you are feeling up to it, you and your family can give the baby their first bath. Waiting helps protect your baby’s thin skin, helps fight germs, and regulates their temperature.

Dads can snuggle too!

Babies also benefit from skin-to-skin time with dad. Fathers and mothers who hold babies skin-to-skin help keep baby calm and content.

Kangaroo Care

We encourage Kangaroo Care also known as skin-to-skin as soon as your NICU baby is clinically stable. It can enhance the bonding between infant and parent. Kangaroo Care can also lower the infant’s oxygen requirements, improve feeding tolerance, improve weight gain, and shorten their length of stay. As parents, only you can provide this intimate care to improve your baby’s health and well-being.