WHAT DOES A BABY NEED?
Love, Affection, and lots of skin to skin contact.
It is Love that grows a baby
Newborns develop best when they are close to their mothers. When a baby is separated from his mother his whole body goes into stress , and therefore may not develop as well as he could because he’s only thinking, where is my mom! His body goes into defense mode and his other systems needed for healthy growth shut down. The longer a baby is in this state the more it affects him, in fact the very structure of the baby’s brain is affected by whether he feels stressed or loved and secure.
Research has shown that skin to skin contact from the moment of birth and as much as possible thereafter affects the following:
1. Brain Development: babies that are separated from their mothers release stress hormones. When high levels of the stress hormone (cortisol) are released for long periods of time healthy brain development can be impeded. Even the structure of areas in the brain responsible for learning and memory can be changed. Every time a baby is hugged or sees a smiling face and feels loved its body produces more growth hormone, its brain comes alive and grows more connections more quickly
For more reading:
http://www.developingchild.net/pubs/wp/Stress_Disrupts_Architecture_Developing_Brain.pdf
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4356.htm http://www.mamy.co.il/Article.aspx?IDP=1369 - Hebrew http://www.educarer.com/brain.htm
2. Emotional Development: when we respond to our baby we reinforce the notion that the world is safe, that it is safe and loved. When we miss the opportunity to respond to our baby, we damage that sense of security. Babies that are not responded to will eventually shut down/ cut off emotionally from the world.
For more reading http://www.edutainingkids.com/articles/buildbabybrains.html
3. Baby’s Temperature and Heart and Breathing Rate has been found to be more stable and normal when kept skin to skin with their mothers. In fact, the chest of a mother after birth will rise to warm her cool baby or drop to cool her warm baby.
For more reading : http://www.leida.co.il/page.asp?id=99075 http://www.kangaroomothercare.com/research.htm
4. Bonding – Bonding is considered the fourth stage of labour. Bonding is essential to your baby’s holistic development. Most babies are ready to bond immediately and the time right after birth is a sensitive, special time for mother and baby. Being with your baby skin to skin right after birth, helps that connection between you two develop so much more easily. It is this attachment that creates a kind of hothouse in which your baby’s development can unfold. Today we know that the relationship between parents and their children is a model for future intimate relationships in the child’s life. Healthy bonding fosters a sense of security and confidence in children.
For more reading: http://www.attachmentparenting.org/artbonding.shtml http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/communicating/bonding.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T131000.asp
5. Crying: There is a direct connection between the amount of skin to skin contact to the amount a baby cries. It has been found that babies that are placed on their mothers’ chests cry almost 10 times less than babies separated from their mothers at birth.
For more reading: http://www.naturalchild.org/peter_cook/attachment.html
6. Successful Breastfeeding: Successful and extended duration of breastfeeding are expected results of early skin to skin contact. Babies that experience skin to skin with their mothers latch more efficiently to the breast. A good latch means that your baby will be getting a richer, more plentiful milk supply. Breast milk provides your baby with ideal nutrition, protection from disease, an immune system boost and a loving, nurturing feeling while on the breast. Mother’s milk contains hormones that give your baby a sense of well being, and a natural venue for bonding. There is no substitute for mother’s milk.
For more reading: http://linok.net/content/view/26/1/
http://www.mom-and-me.com/41570.php
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/jack_newman2.html
http://www.loveyourbaby.com/
7. Pain relief: Studies have shown that skin on skin contact during heel lancing (PKU and glucose testing) reduces crying by 82%, reduces grimacing by 65% and heart rates are stabilized. Holding your baby close to your body throughout any medical procedure can substantially reduce their experience of pain.
For more reading: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/105/1/e14
8. Mothers’ ability to bond: Mothers also experience emotional strain when separated from their newborns. Research suggests that the time straight after birth is a special attachment time for new mothers and their babies. What happens during this time can have a profound effect on Mother’s behavior towards her baby for at least one month after delivery. Research has discovered that by keeping your baby skin to skin and close to you the likelihood of maternal anxiety and depression is significantly reduced.
For more reading: http://home.mweb.co.za/to/torngren/firsthrs.htm
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10897
How Long Should Skin to Skin Contact Be Maintained?
Professor Nils Bergman advises keeping your baby on you skin to skin for at least the first 6 hours of life, for all the baby’s systems to balance after the birth. The processing of your baby’s fear responses and emotional memory, is in a critical growth period throughout the first 8 weeks of life. Touch and the smell of the baby’s mother are significant parts of the stimulation required for this brain growth. Babies instinctively look for skin to skin contact. It is how they are designed. The seat of emotional development, self control, long term memory and the system that regulates our automatic functions is formed by the age of three. You lay down the groundwork for positive and healthy development when you respond to your baby with eye contact, loving affection, and with as much skin to skin care as possible.
Know that you cannot “spoil” a baby with love, you can only help him develop!
It’s your birth, your baby and your responsibility, so do what you think is best for your baby!
