Immediately after birth

Skin-to-skin contact.

Skin-to-skin means holding your baby naked or dressed only in a nappy against your skin, usually under your top or under a blanket. 

There is growing evidence that shows in addition to reducing this stress, there are numerous benefits for mother and baby when engaged in skin-to-skin contact such as:

  • It helps to regulate your baby’s body temperature
  • It helps to stabilise your baby’s heart rate and breathing
  • It help to calm your baby and minimises stress
  • It helps to support your baby’s immune system by the passage of your own beneficial skin bacteria
  • It helps to initiate breastfeeding

Skin-to-skin