Impact of Postnatal Mother and Baby Separation Flashcards
What do The World Health Organization [1] (read details regarding the reference) and United Nations Children’s Fund recommend regarding skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth?
All healthy mothers and babies, regardless of feeding preference and method of birth, should have uninterrupted skin-to-skin care beginning immediately after birth for at least an hour and until after the first feeding for breastfeeding women.
Benefits of skin-to-skin care
- Mother learns about her baby’s needs and how to care for, comfort, and soothe her newborn.
- 24 hours a day improves health outcomes.
What is the physiological need for mother and baby after birth?
- First hour
- Once in a lifetime experience
- VItal for mother and baby
- Sensitive period
- Oxytocin
- Baby warmth
- Maternal flora
First hour
The first hour of life outside the womb is a special time when a baby meets his or her parents for the first time and a family is formed.
Once-in-a-lifetime experience
This once-in-a-lifetime experience is to be cherished and protected for the physiological stability of the baby and the beginning of maternal-infant interaction.
Vital for both mother and baby
The first hour or so is vital for both mother and baby to be in skin-to-skin contact as;
- baby instinctively cries
- awakens
- self-regulates
- crawls to mother’s breast
- suckles
- goes to sleep.
Sensitive period
This sensitive period of the first hour is significantly influenced by elevated levels of the maternal hormone, oxytocin. Oxytocin is the feel-good hormone that contributes to feelings of calm, positivity and is essential for the initiation of lactation and neurological development in the baby.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin release increases during skin-to-skin care and:
Promotes mother-baby attachment
Reduces maternal and newborn stress
Helps the newborn transit smoothly to postnatal life
Baby warmth
Skin-to-skin care supports improved thermoregulation and maintains glucose homeostasis.
Maternal flora
Immediate skin-to-skin care aides regulation of temperature, heart rate and breathing and enables colonisation of the newborn with maternal flora, as opposed to hospital flora, thus protecting against infection.
What do you think are the benefits to the baby of keeping her/him with the mother?
- The moments after birth a baby’s sensory system is both receptive and sensitive to touch, smell, heat etc
- Skin-to-skin contact assists with the regulation of neurological and physiological development and leads to a positive neuro behavioural and biological response
- Skin-to-skin contact improves glucose metabolism, oxygen saturation, thermoregulation and enhances sleep patterns
- When babies are kept with the mother, they have a higher rate of exclusive breastfeeding at transfer from hospital and at 6 months of age
What do you think are the benefits to the mother of keeping her with the baby?
- The hormone oxytocin prepares the mother to be with her baby at the moments of birth and thereafter
- Oxytocin, which is secreted in a large amount at the time of birth and increases during skin-to-skin, helps the uterus to contract
- Oxytocin also stimulates the maternal emotional response to the baby
- During skin-to-skin contact, the maternal brain releases beta-endorphins, which have an analgesic effect. They enhance a pleasurable response in the mother and reduce stress as she interacts with her baby
- Maintaining skin-to-skin contact improves responsive breastfeeding
- Mothers who are kept with their babies have more breastfeeding success and carry on exclusively breastfeeding their babies for longer
- Mothers who have their babies with them develop greater parenting confidence, as they have more time to get to know their babies from the start
- Avoiding separating the baby from his/her mother improves attachment and long-term well-being of both mother and baby
