Can dads do skin-to-skin contact after giving birth?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Pham Thi Yen - Obstetrician - Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.
Not only can the mother have skin-to-skin contact with the baby right after birth, but the father can also do this. With the great benefits that this method brings, the World Health Organization (WHO) always recommends applying it within at least an hour right after birth.

1. What is skin-to-skin contact after birth?

The skin-to-skin method is a method for the baby to have direct contact when naked and close to the body of the mother or father. The baby's cheeks, chest, belly and legs are close to the parent's body. Or your baby can wear diapers and hats. Baby's head is lying on one side, covered with a thin blanket.
The first thing a baby can feel when he is born is the warmth of his mother and father. Let the baby lie close to the abdomen or close to the chest, the baby will easily feel the body odor, the heartbeat and the breath of the parents, surely the baby will feel that he is being safe and protected.
A great time for this skin-to-skin approach is from 30 minutes to 1 hour postpartum. However, in case the mother conducts a cesarean section, skin-to-skin contact can also be applied to the father instead of the mother immediately after birth.

2. Amazing benefits of skin-to-skin contact after birth

2.1 For babies

The great benefit of skin-to-skin contact after birth for the baby is the transmission of warmth from the mother and father to the baby, helping the baby quickly stabilize the heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and blood sugar in the body. body.
When doing skin-to-skin contact with the mother helps the baby reduce the secretion of cortisol (a stress substance). The warmer feeling when being hugged and caressed by the mother will help the baby sleep deeply, less fussy when separated from the mother.
Also thanks to this method, the baby is stimulated with senses, developing the necessary neurotransmitters for the brain. According to research, when babies are cared for in this method, they often have better and more sensitive memories.
Another great benefit is helping your baby's digestive system quickly return to a balanced state. Creating favorable conditions for the vagus nerve to be activated, increasing the size of the capillaries in the intestinal lumen. Helps babies absorb and digest better, stabilize weight gain.
Skin-to-skin contact after birth helps the baby absorb bacteria from the parents' skin. However, this is not dangerous because the baby received antibodies against these bacteria while in the womb.
Skin-to-skin contact with the mother stimulates the baby's instinct to find the breast, the baby will suckle sooner and more often. At the same time, it stimulates the mother's body to produce oxytocin and prolactin to help milk come in sooner and more.

2.2 For the mother

This can be the most amazing experience of motherhood for any woman. Mothers will be relieved from the pain of childbirth instead of a feeling of love and protection that is pervading the whole body.
When the mother gently touches or caress the baby, it will stimulate the mother's body to release oxytocin (a hormone that stimulates lactation, ie, the sooner the mother is skin-to-skin with the baby, the faster and more milk will come).
Skin-to-skin is the most natural way for a mother to bond with her baby, especially babies who are fussy and need their mother's care to maintain life and development. Certainly, making skin-to-skin contact with their baby will make parents feel more confident with this new task.

2.3 For Dad

While waiting for the mother to recover from the cesarean section, the baby should be skin-to-skin with the father first. This kind of care helps to reduce the rate of babies nursing late due to being isolated after their mother's stay for too long. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact include increased parent-child interactions. This is also an opportunity for the father to take on the baby's warmth, to be able to understand the difficulties of his loving wife's labor.
Moreover, thanks to that, babies are less fussy and quickly develop behaviors before breastfeeding. In addition, skin-to-skin contact with the father also helps to stabilize the baby's heart rate, regulate body temperature and blood sugar.
Skin-to-skin with dad is the bond of close affection between father and son. Hearing the baby cry, holding the baby in their arms is the most sacred feeling of all parents that anyone feels happy to remember.
Skin-to-skin contact right after the baby is born is also a father's first experience to learn how to cherish his babies, avoiding awkwardness when holding the baby. Practice regular skin-to-skin contact and your baby will always feel safe in his father's arms. Thanks to that, I will also learn to recognize your child's wishes, understand you and take better care of you.

3. Ideal time to apply skin-to-skin after birth

Skin-to-skin contact should be performed on a daily basis. Therefore, parents can apply this method even when the baby is strong enough. However, the effects of skin-to-skin contact also differ from time to time. Specifically:
0 - 1 hour after birth: This time is very good for the baby's brain development 0 - 6 hours after birth: Stabilize the baby's breathing 6-24 hours after birth: Help the baby stabilize the schedule Breastfeeding and sleeping for 12 hours - 8 weeks postpartum: Fills more love between parent and child

4. How long is appropriate to continue skin-to-skin contact?

Mom and Dad can continue to have skin-to-skin contact as long as the baby is comfortable. When you breastfeed your baby, your baby will also have skin contact with you. How long this exposure lasts depends on your baby's feelings and your wishes.
Early skin-to-skin contact helps babies bond closely with their parents.
Accordingly, the love between parents and children can then be expressed in many other ways such as cuddling, kissing cheeks, holding hands, or bathing the baby.

5. How is skin-to-skin contact with the baby?

Immediately after birth, if the mother wants to have skin-to-skin contact with the baby, the midwife will first help dry the baby, place the baby next to the mother's bare chest, and wrap a warm towel around the baby's body. Your baby will be wearing a hat because most of her body heat will drop through her head, and keeping warm makes skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby warmer, creating a feeling of comfort for the baby.
Right after that, your husband can also come in to see the baby, there will be separate clothes for the patient's family. At that time, the father will be instructed how to hold the baby. In case the mother has a cesarean section, the husband will also be given a separate set of clothes to enter the operating room.
Accordingly, in the following hours, weeks and months, you can still do skin-to-skin contact with your baby whenever, as long as he feels comfortable with it. This can also be used to comfort a baby when he is hungry or upset.
If the mother is still tired, she can still lie down and hold the baby on her chest or sit down and hold the baby and hold the baby in an upright position with the baby's chest close to the mother's chest, roll a thin blanket on the baby's back to keep warm .
You can do anything if it feels more comfortable for you and your baby, even take off your bra while breastfeeding, don't wear a bra, or use a nursing bra. However, about 3 days after giving birth, you will need a bra because then the milk comes in more and the breasts start to get heavier.

Skin-to-skin contact can be helpful for mothers and babies who are having trouble breastfeeding because after this contact the baby will find the mother's breast and suckle more easily.
Moreover, dad can also do skin-to-skin contact with baby when mother is busy and has to bottle-feed, this can be considered a rather interesting experience to help bond the affection between father and baby.
Skin-to-skin contact is a scientific method commonly applied in Vietnam today. And both mothers and fathers can perform skin-to-skin contact after birth so that the baby can feel the warmth and love from his parents, helping him to increase his resistance and ability to develop.
Vinmec International General Hospital offers a Package Maternity Care Program for pregnant women right from the first months of pregnancy with a full range of antenatal care visits, periodical 3D and 4D ultrasounds and routine tests to ensure that the mother is healthy and the fetus is developing comprehensively. Pregnant women will no longer be alone when entering labor because having a loved one to help them during childbirth always brings peace of mind and happiness.
Doctor Pham Thi Yen has 11 years of experience in examination and treatment in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Doctor with strengths and deep understanding in:
Examination and consultation of normal pregnancies, pathological pregnancies, high-risk pregnancies Examination and treatment of gynecological diseases: cervicitis, cervical ectropion Surgery Laparoscopic surgery for gynecological diseases: ectopic pregnancy, uterine tumor, ovarian tumor Surgery for breast, vulvar, vaginal, cervical tumors Obstetric surgery: cesarean section, examination and treatment of endocrine disorders in women of all ages: puberty, reproductive age; perimenopausal age.

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