Skin to Skin

Beedeck · February 2014

DS is 2 1/2, when I had him I remember reading up on skin to skin and I think I did it for a little bit shortly after he was born. I had a conversation with a friend last night who delivered at the same hospital as me last April and said skin to skin is now a huge thing. They call it something else to the effect of "back to nature" or something like that and it's a requirement for the first hour after you have your baby. She said they also don't clean the baby off anymore because they have found that the white milky fluid is really good for the baby's skin when it is allowed to sit and absorb. I tried to find details on my hospital website but I didn't have any luck.

I'm certainly not opposed as I do recall the benefits of skin to skin, I had no clue about the cleaning (or not cleaning) of the baby though. Has anyone else heard about this? I'm also wondering what else has changed in the short 2 1/2 years since I did this before?

lesleyn21 · February 2014

Hmmm I'm curious about this as well. I had Ds cleaned and checked before given to me. He was born two years ago.

CplusJ=S · February 2014

There is nothing new about these practices, they are just becoming more common as the benefits are becoming more widely known. I leaned about it when during my first pregnancy 3 years ago when I took Bradley classes. I advised the nurses I preferred to leave the vernix on the baby, had immediate skin to skin and delayed the bath.

Stasi · February 2014

I have friends that have opted to not have their babies bathed at all in the hospital (so 2+ days) because of the benefits of the vernix. I personally, only held my baby for a few minutes before they cleaned her up and gave her back..

I've also heard you aren't supposed to let them put the little hat on your baby because it releases oxytocin and helps you bond with baby. Here is the article (it is far from being scientific)

https://modernalternativepregnancy.com/2013/09/06/take-it-off-why-you-should-drop-your-newborns-hat/

ashleyb1114 · February 2014

We didn't do immediate skin to skin. They handed her to me immediately for a minute then took her for the weight and everything else. They cleaned her off (not completely, but for the most part) before they gave her to me again. I did skin to skin with her a few times. We didn't bathe her until the next night, but I honestly had no idea about benefits of vernix to be honest. We only waited because of timing issues with the nurses.

rlyttle · February 2014

JeremiahsBabe said:

We did immediate skin to skin for about 10ish mins but then then took her to get weighed and wiped her off a little while I got stiched up. After they were done with the initial tests, I held her again for a long time before letting her go. She didn't get her first bath until the next day I believe.

This is what we did. Now they have the "golden hour" at the hospital where I had DS. They encourage skin to skin, breastfeeding right away, and no visitors for that first hour.

Beedeck · February 2014

bmwaters2121

I couldn't get the link to copy but here is a quick overview for you to read...

Health experts agree that skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery is best for mother and baby! Your baby should be placed directly on your chest after delivery and remain there until the first feeding is accomplished at the very minimum. This helps support a healthy transition from inside to outside of life for your baby. The more contact mom and baby have in the first few hours and days, the better for both of them! Immediate and frequent use of skin-to-skin contact will help with the following:

Helps prevent heat loss and maintain a normal body temperature for baby. Mom is the best warmer!
Baby uses less energy which helps prevent low blood sugar and keeps baby alert and engaged.
Brings baby's heart rate, breathing and blood pressure back to normal after the excitement of being born.
Baby is comforted, decreasing stress on baby and need for crying because he knows he is safe and secure with mom.
Mother's skin provides healthy protection from many infections that baby may come into contact with in the early days of life.
Increases the chances of an early start and likelihood of long-term breastfeeding success.
Helps slow and may reduce overall bleeding for mom after delivery while stabilizing the hormonal shift after birth.
Promotes early bonding and attachment between parents and baby.
Keep cuddling skin-to-skin after you leave the hospital — your baby will stay warm and comfortable on your chest, and the benefits of bonding, soothing and breastfeeding likely continue well after birth.
Dads can snuggle too — fathers and mothers who hold babies skin-to-skin help keep baby calm and cozy.

Sweetest116 · February 2014

My DS was born clean with no vernix or blood, so this wouldn't have applied to him. We also weren't able to do skin to skin EVER because he was taken to the NICU after birth. (and I was a BFing cow, I had a huge over supply, so skin to skin means crap for milk and supply in my opinion)

LTMama · February 2014

We didn't have the benefit of any of skin-to-skin, since I only got to hold her for a minute before she was whisked off to the NICU. I'd like to do it this time, though. I haven't done much reading about vernix, though, so I have no opinion on it yet.

She was born 3 years ago in April. I can't remember if we discussed skin to skin with the hospital staff, though most of my preferences for delivery were kind of off the table given how early she was.

LTMama · February 2014

Stasi said:

I have friends that have opted to not have their babies bathed at all in the hospital (so 2+ days) because of the benefits of the vernix. I personally, only held my baby for a few minutes before they cleaned her up and gave her back..

I've also heard you aren't supposed to let them put the little hat on your baby because it releases oxytocin and helps you bond with baby. Here is the article (it is far from being scientific)

https://modernalternativepregnancy.com/2013/09/06/take-it-off-why-you-should-drop-your-newborns-hat/

Interesting article! We DID do a lot of kangaroo care in the NICU - whenever I visited DD, the nurses always asked me if I or whoever came with me (DH, my mom, etc) wanted to do it. They were quick to bring us gowns if we wanted to, and had comfy recliners for us to sit on so we could take naps with DD. It was nice, and I do credit that in part for her having such a (relatively) short NICU stay.

caden1206 · February 2014

Skin to skin is great. I did it with my DD. Lots of benefits. Not cleaning the baby after birth hasn't hit the hospital I work or delivering yet. We clean them to stimulate and so they don't get cold. I have heard of this though. I will be cleaning my baby after birth.

MrsLaLaBug · February 2014

CplusJ=S said:

There is nothing new about these practices, they are just becoming more common as the benefits are becoming more widely known. I leaned about it when during my first pregnancy 3 years ago when I took Bradley classes. I advised the nurses I preferred to leave the vernix on the baby, had immediate skin to skin and delayed the bath.

^wss!

Stasi · February 2014

CplusJ=S said:

There is nothing new about these practices, they are just becoming more common as the benefits are becoming more widely known. I leaned about it when during my first pregnancy 3 years ago when I took Bradley classes. I advised the nurses I preferred to leave the vernix on the baby, had immediate skin to skin and delayed the bath.

Loved Bradley! Going to take some refresher classes this summer

epaprn · February 2014

What's the benefit with vernix? Aren't they covered with it while in utero?

CplusJ=S · February 2014

https://raisingnaturalkids.com/2012/04/13/wait-dont-wash-that-newborn/

AmandaR204 · February 2014

I did skin to skin with DS. I'd do it with new baby too, but I'd want them cleaned up first. They've been in that gunk for 9 months, an extra hour isn't going to change their lives. Sounds like sillyness to me.

LM915 · February 2014

I didn't get immediate skin to skin with DD because I had a c/s. I was a little concerned because ideally, I wanted skin to skin as soon as she was born, but it worked out fine. As soon as I was out of surgery, we did skin to skin and we nursed. They did her bath after that... not sure how long we did skin to skin and nursed, it was all kind of a blur at that point, but I was happy to know my hospital really encourages early bonding/nursing.

CplusJ=S · February 2014

Many hospitals are now supporting gentle c section practices and allowing mothers to have immediate skin to skin in the OR.

JSS1002 · February 2014

I hope to do S2S this time around! With my first, I had an emergency c/s, and they would have let me do skin to skin... except that my epidural didn't work and they had to knock me unconscious. Sad. But we did a lot of it in the days and weeks that followed. But I was disappointed.

BabyMayinMarch · February 2014

We had skin to skin right away, but I was so dazed and still flat on my back that I found it really weird. I ended up asking the nurse to take DS for a little bit so I could sit up and drink some water! They just did his measurements, shots, wiped him a bit and gave him right back. I think we gave him a bath the next day?

portentosa · February 2014

With my DS 13 months ago they placed him directly on my chest first thing and I held him for a few minutes before the cord was cut, then they took him to weigh, measure, get prints, etc. They gave him back to me for skin to skin to help his breathing and I held him like that for a very long time. When I was ready to move to my recovery room they took him for a bath and wheeled him into me in my new room. They asked about the bath though so I may be able to turn it down if I want next time. I'll look into it.

arschm02 · February 2014

rlyttle said:

JeremiahsBabe said:

We did immediate skin to skin for about 10ish mins but then then took her to get weighed and wiped her off a little while I got stiched up. After they were done with the initial tests, I held her again for a long time before letting her go. She didn't get her first bath until the next day I believe.

This is what we did. Now they have the "golden hour" at the hospital where I had DS. They encourage skin to skin, breastfeeding right away, and no visitors for that first hour.

this was me with DS. I was exhausted to the point I thought I would drop him and he screamed the whole time. I was relieved when they took him to go do his lab tests.

biokitty42 · February 2014

I did skin-to-skin for over an hour after DD was born. They had just briefly wiped her, but basically immediately put her on my chest. They checked on me every so often but kept telling me it was no hurry for them to bathe her, and that I should hold her as long as I wanted. I think it was a good bonding experience.

Barefoot84 · February 2014

We did skin to skin right after birth, for about an hour, before being transferred to our regular room. We were recommended to keep doing it at home, on me as well as on DH. I bought a skin to skin shirt, and she loved being in it. Also, when she had a fever when she was two or three months old, they recommended we do skin to skin, and her fever went down really quickly.

SingleMom31 · February 2014

DD was a vacuum extraction after 26 hours in labor, so they whisked her off for a few to check on her. It gave them a chance to get me more drugs before stitching me up too. It was the right choice at the time, even if not as planned. If this one comes out easier, we'd like to have that first hour to ourselves. After that he/she'll go get cleaned up again. They're much more cuddly when they smell good.

suitern · February 2014

We did immediate skin to skin as we had a delayed cord cutting done as well. I think I had him for about 5 minutes on my chest and then they took him to clean him up and look at his eye as they cut it using forceps. I have never heard about delaying wiping of the white stuff, I will have to read up on that.

adoxyinherear · February 2014

Sounds like your hospital is really progressive! I asked to have DD skin-to-skin after she was born, and that they delay bathing her or putting a hat on her or swaddling her until we'd had that hour. They only took her away for a few minutes after she was born to weigh her and put the drops in her eyes, etc. Then they brought her right back and were very accommodating.

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