Research
Why is skin to skin contact important?
There is a growing body of evidence that skin to skin contact after the birth helps babies and their mothers in many ways.
- Calms and relaxes both mother and baby
- Regulates the baby’s heart rate and breathing, helping them to better adapt to life outside the womb
- Stimulates digestion and an interest in feeding
- Regulates temperature
- Enables colonization of the baby’s skin with the mother’s friendly bacteria, thus providing protection against infection
- Stimulates the release of hormones to support breastfeeding and mothering.
However there are risks involved. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists warn that "it is important that infants are adequately supervised to ensure safety, prevent falls, and prevent sudden unexpected postnatal collapse." (Crowe e191)
How does the Skin to Skin Gown help?
Our gowns are uniquely designed to hold baby to mom's chest with our incredible bonding panel. The patent pending design allow for longer skin to skin contact and greatly reduces the risk of baby falling from mom's chest.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/mpinc/supporting-evidence.html
Crowe, Susan D, and Lauren E Hanley. “Optimizing Support for Breastfeeding as Part of Obstetric Practice.” ACOG Committee Opinion, vol. 132, no. 4, Oct. 2018, pp. e187–e196., doi:10.32388/3hgbar.
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2018/10/optimizing-support-for-breastfeeding-as-part-of-obstetric-practice
https://news.sanfordhealth.org/childrens/the-importance-of-skin-to-skin-after-delivery-you-should-know/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235060/
https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/baby-friendly-resources/implementing-standards-resources/skin-to-skin-contact/