"The Golden Hour: Where Bonding Begins"

Did you know that after the birth of a newborn, if placed immediately on the mother's stomach, the baby can crawl up to the breast? The crawl isn't immediate and quick, it may take a while. It usually occurs soon after birth. Newborn babies use their senses to find the breast. The senses work all together to help us navigate the outside world. The mom is the one who brings all these needs to the table. Her smell, her face, her voice, and her touch meets every one of the baby’s needs. This all happens during the golden hour after birth. No matter what happens you and your baby need the golden hour to be defended.      When the baby comes, the doctors will put the baby on the mother's abdomen. If left alone, the baby will smell his mother's breast, then he will begin to crawl up her body to find her nipple and latch on by themselves, this is why it's important to not wash your breast off after birth especially not before the golden hour.  What can the baby see? Babies can see objects if they are within 8-10 inches of their eyes. Babies prefer to look at a face, especially their mothers. When placed on his mother he will look to find her face and gaze into her eyes. This gaze between a mother and her child is too big for words, another important reason for dim lights. The baby will almost immediately open his eyes and look around, if the lights are on it will make the baby uncomfortable and he won't want to open his eyes.

A baby’s hearing is also important after the first moments, when a mother holds her baby during the golden hour she should talk to her baby, ask everyone to whisper, and keep the room calm if they must come in for checkups.

The warm feel of the mother's skin and touch helps transition the baby into this world. When a baby, who is breathing incorrectly is placed onto his mom, most of the time, they immediately begin to regulate their breathing and decrease the need for intervention. 

Many studies have found benefits from spending time with your newborn with skin-to-skin contact. These are a few of the added benefits of skin-to-skin.

• Decreasing stress in both baby and parents

• Allowing mom and baby to learn about each other through touch, sight, smell and hearing

• Promoting bonding and breastfeeding

• Stabilizing baby’s body temperature, heartbeat, breathing, and blood oxygen levels

• Strengthening baby’s digestion and immune systems

• Producing a stronger milk supply in breastfeeding moms

• Reducing postpartum bleeding in moms

Unfortunately, there are times when not all mothers and babies are healthy or stable enough to provide skin-to-skin care right after birth. Sometimes, another form of bonding is needed to substitute for this care:

• Pumping breastmilk to provide to the child helps promote bonding and nutrition.

• Providing cloth or clothing with the mom's scent helps the infant experience the smells of the parent until skin-to-skin care can be accomplished.

• Parents can touch their infant with their hand or have the infant hold the parent’s finger, too. This provides bonding and touch between both individuals which can help alleviate some stress.

It is always possible to provide skin-to-skin care. When the medical team says mom and baby are stable enough for skin-to-skin care, then you can begin, even in the NICU. 

SANFORD HEALTH

The Golden Hour after Birth and Why You Should Protect it at all Costs 

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