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Skin to skin: a privileged contact with baby
Developed in South America in the 70s to save premature babies by warming them, the practice of skin-to-skin has since spread to all births. Also known under the name of the kangaroo method, it is indeed rich in benefits, for toddlers as for their parents.
Skin to skin, what is it?
Skin-to-skin involves placing the infant naked or in a diaper on the bare chest of one of its parents. The first skin-to-skin procedure is usually done in the delivery room: just after the expulsion, after quickly making sure that the baby is well and before giving him first aid, the midwife or the gynecologist drops him off. on his mom. Skin to skin can then be practiced during the stay in the maternity hospital and then continued at home.
How to make a good skin to skin with baby?
To fully and safely benefit from skin to skin, baby must be positioned vertically, his belly against his mother’s or daddy’s chest, between the breasts. Its head should be turned to the side, its mouth and nose clear, its chin slightly raised and its legs bent. The most comfortable for the parent is to sit on a comfortable seat with armrests or, failing that, to sit in the bed, with the arms well supported by the cushions. The use of a wide elasticated cotton belt is recommended to keep baby in the correct position. Otherwise, you must make sure to support it well under the buttocks. Finally, place a light blanket on baby’s back so that it maintains its warmth. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask a maternity midwife or nursery nurse how to perform skin-to-skin skin-to-skin care when you return home.
The benefits of skin to skin for babies
Placed naked on the chest of its mother just after the expulsion, the newborn enters the world gently. And, surprising as it may seem, if left to do so, it will climb on its own to its mother’s breast and begin to suck. If the skin-to-skin between the newborn and its mother is initiated immediately after childbirth or within 24 hours, breastfeeding is more likely to be prolonged, says a review of the literature published by the Cochrane Foundation . It appears that women who have benefited from skin to skin are more likely to breastfeed their child between 1 and 4 months after childbirth. They also appear to breastfeed longer than other women. The results also show that women who have a cesarean delivery and their babies also benefit skin-to-skin. They are more likely to breastfeed their babies and continue to breastfeed them until their 4th month.
Comforting, reassuring, skin to skin soothes baby. It can be very useful in limiting the pain if the baby is required to receive care (pricks, injections, etc.) allowing him to be present on one of his parents.
Back home, skin-to-skin can limit the duration and intensity of a baby with colic or those dreaded sob attacks that often occur at the end of the day for no reason.
What about parents?
Parents who practice skin to skin see their stress and anxiety levels reduced. Aware of the well-being that they provide to their baby by their simple contact, they often have more confidence in their new parenting capacities.
Why skin-to-skin is important in premature birth?
The kangaroo method saw the light of day in a Colombian maternity hospital in the 70s. Faced with the shortage of incubators, the nursery nurses then had the idea of placing premature babies skin to skin against their mother and father so that they could warm up. in contact with them. But if this practice continues today in our ultra-sophisticated hospitals, it is because it has many other interests: specialists have yet to find anything better to recreate an intimacy interrupted by a too early birth, to relax the baby and his parents and strengthen their bonds. By stimulating the flow of milk, skin to skin is also known to promote the initiation of breastfeeding, often hampered by premature birth, especially if it took place by cesarean section.
A study published in Pediatrics in December 2016 suggests that skin to skin in the first hours of life would still provide benefits 20 years later. In adulthood, children who have benefited from skin to skin would be less aggressive, impulsive, hyperactive and stressed than premature babies who only received standard care.
The skin-to-skin benefits are such that they are an integral part of the NIDCAP program. Designed in the United States, this individualized assessment and developmental care program allows nurses, pediatricians, physiotherapists and shrinks to best adapt medical care, but also its environment, to the specific needs of the premature newborn and of his parents. This program is gradually developing in French maternity hospitals.