After birth, immediate and prolonged skin to skin contact is essential for you and your baby. It is a time to not only bond, but give your baby comfort in transitioning from the warm womb to the cold world.
This skin to skin contact will help you recover as well.
It gives you and your baby a chance to bond.
Your baby gets to know you, your touch, your scent, your love.
Your baby will cry less.
This contact has been shown to stimulate breastfeeding sooner.
Don’t wrap your baby up in a blanket. Skin to skin is best.
Holding your baby close is a better warmer than artificial heat.
Don’t worry about germs. This exposure is actually beneficial.
You will get to know your baby’s signals sooner for wants and needs.
All this contact will cause lower stress in both you and your baby.
Holding your baby after birth will give you a sense of empowerment. That your baby is yours, needs you, and you are the one who can care for him or her.
Want to hear a remarkable story? A real story about the importance of skin to skin? A true story? A woman gave birth to a baby that was declared dead. Attempts were made to revive the baby, but to no avail. The mother wanted to hold the baby close as closure. A lovingly way to say good bye. The women held the baby close with skin to skin contact. A short time later, the baby showed signs of life. The woman gave drops of breast milk. The baby revived. This story is true. Read more about it here.
>>Please visit our main breastfeeding and baby care page.


