That They Do Not Separate Us: Skin To Skin During The First Months Of Life

The kangaroo method or skin-to-skin contact is a technique commonly practiced with newborns so that that first physical imprint full of warmth, favors the beginning of breastfeeding and the bond between mother and child. However, numerous studies recommend that we continue to practice this method continuously.

Neonatal experts call it “kangaroo care.” It was in the early 1970s that Bogotá, a country with an incredibly high mortality rate at this time, was discovered that something as simple as placing the newborn on its mother’s breast, notably increased the survival of the little ones.

The kangaroo method improved heart rate, breathing pattern, and oxygen saturation. The kangaroo method (named after how marsupials carry their young in their bags) worked, so it did not take long for this practice to spread to several hospitals in the United States and, subsequently, to the rest of the world.

Now, there is one aspect to take into account. There is always talk of the skin-to-skin benefits during the first hours of life, and that it is an incredibly suitable technique for premature babies. However, we must not forget an interesting aspect: if we extend the “kangaroo method” during the first months of life, we further promote the bond with our child and his proper maturation.

Next, we offer you all the information .

Skin to skin to welcome the newborn

They say that there is nothing as mysterious as being born. If we stop for a moment to look back to try to remember our own birth, we realize that everything is between nebulae. We do not succeed. However, there are many neurologists and neonatologists who tell us that being born can be something very traumatic, that it can leave a mark on us.

• We leave a quiet and safe environment to be ripped off sometimes abruptly. In the second, several hands begin to manipulate us, cut our umbilical cord and wash us, while we wonder where she is. Where is that mother of whom until not long ago, we were part.

• The first hour after birth is sacred and belongs to the mother and the child. It is an essential protocol that all hospitals must implement for the following reasons:

Benefits of the “kangaroo method” after childbirth

• The transition from fetal life to the outside, to our world, is favored with more harmony and less stress. It is a warmer and more loving welcome.

• One of the greatest benefits found from skin-to-skin contact is the better oxygen saturation rate and regulation of the baby’s body temperature.

• Nor can we forget that the negative effects of the separation between mother and child are reduced. This very common fact generates a high level of stress in the brain of a child, something that we can avoid in such a simple, wonderful and accommodating way as putting skin to skin to the main protagonists.

• Babies are also born with the instinctive ability to find the breast and thus initiate lactation. Skin-to-skin contact promotes this very natural behavior, something that should be started as soon as you are born.

• Even if the delivery was by cesarean section, it is necessary to put the kangaroo method into practice. Now, we all know that this is not always put into practice in hospitals, since after a cesarean section it is common for the baby to go to the nest and the mother to go to resuscitation. It is something that must be improved as the conditions are favorable.

Skin to skin for the next few months and also with dad

The power of the warmth of the skin, of the smell, of that warm closeness where two hearts pump at the same time has no comparison with anything else. Babies do not only need breast milk or a bottle to grow in harmony and happiness. Food is not everything.

• To mature normally, you need closeness, caresses and security. An affectionate environment is the most incredible tool to favor the neural connection of a brain that is building its reality based on what it feels, what it perceives and what the world offers it.

• So why deprive a child of our skin if it is what helps them most to regulate stress and gain security? Breastfeeding itself already generates that union and that exceptional bond, but if a family wishes, we can extend that contact for months.

Skin-to-skin contact with either mom or dad is known to enhance a child’s cognitive abilities and emotional maturity. Thus, it is worth promoting it by participating as we say to our couples or even, why not, to the older brothers if possible . To do this, simply follow these routines.

How to put the kangaroo method into practice

• We will undress our breasts, taking off our shirt or bra.

• The baby will wear his diaper and if we want him a hat.

• We place the child in a vertical position on us, and then cover him with a blanket.

• Allow the baby to rest. It is their time, it is your time, enjoy the here now and listen to their breathing.

• It would be appropriate to do it between 4 and 5 hours per week.

So don’t hesitate to extend the skin-to-skin experience as long as you want and as possible.