The time that the mother (and partner) and baby spend in the delivery room after birth is priceless. Many important life processes begin immediately after birth. The first hour after birth. is especially sensitive.
Part of the early postpartum period is also breastfeeding in the delivery room. If the baby shows interest, it’s important that the mother notices this and latches the baby to the breast. If the baby is in skin-to-skin contact, there’s a good chance the baby will latch on their own. It’s important to give the mother and baby their time after birth. With successful breastfeeding in the delivery room, the mother will gain a lot of confidence, and it will be more likely that she will be breastfeeding at discharge from the maternity hospital and beyond. With an uninterrupted first hour after birth, the baby will go through the 9 instinctive stages.
“I’m most grateful that breastfeeding worked out for us, and I’m convinced that a big part of why it did can be attributed to that first contact (with my first son, this wasn’t possible; breastfeeding just didn’t work for us at all, so I pumped milk for almost 1 year).” – Nuša, 2016
“You helped us get breastfeeding going, took photos of us, and helped create our first shared memories… I’m happy I could have you by my side, even if only for a short time, but most importantly, you were with me at the most important time! You were in the right place at the right time. Thank you.” – Eva, 2016
10 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL BREASTFEEDING requires maternity hospitals (BFHI) under Step 4 to help mothers within the first 30 minutes after birth to start breastfeeding. “Immediately after birth, newborns should be placed with their mothers in skin-to-skin contact for AT LEAST one hour, and mothers should be encouraged to observe their babies’ readiness to breastfeed and, IF needed, be offered help.”
Read also:
- Bonding between mother and baby after a C-section
- The first hour after birth
- The newborn’s 9 instinctive stages
- Fear of childbirth
- First newborn care after birth – bathing
- Parenthood and bonding
- Birth plan
- Cutting the umbilical cord
- Postpartum plan
Links:
Skin-to-skin contact. Part one: just an hour of your time…
Skin-to-skin contact. Part two: the evidence.
Successful breastfeeding for good health of children and mothers (.pdf)
Association for support and help for breastfeeding mothers
Association of lactation and breastfeeding consultants of Slovenia
10 P’s for successful breastfeeding
