I want the best start to breastfeeding! How can I achieve this?
The best start to breastfeeding is 2 hours of skin-to-skin contact with your baby right after birth. We suggest keeping baby this way for at least one hour or until the first breastfeeding takes place.
Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact:
- Regulates baby's breathing and body temperature
- Maintains steady blood sugar levels
- Lowers stress caused by separation
- Promotes bonding
- Decreases baby's crying
- Reduces excess postpartum bleeding for mom
- Lessens both mom and baby's pain response
In addition, skin-to-skin contact allows access to the breasts to begin feeding and triggers your milk-making hormones! After birth, babies go through 9 distinct stages when placed on their mother's bare chest. Being held this way activates their natural instinct to find the breast and latch.
In a normal, uncomplicated delivery, all routine assessments can be done by hospital staff without interrupting skin-to-skin time. Consider waiting to get baby’s weight and other measurements until you have completed 1-2 hours of skin-to-skin time. This is possible, even after a C-section, with help from a nurse and/or your support person. If mom is unable to do skin-to-skin, the support person is the next best option to provide skin-to-skin bonding time with baby.
We encourage making and sharing your breastfeeding plan with hospital staff and your support person. Skin-to-skin contact helps every baby and mother, whether breastfeeding or formula feeding. Both mom and dad can continue skin-to-skin contact with the baby as baby gets older!