Mom gently pushes her baby into the hands of the practitioner who places the newborn “skin to skin” on the mother’s abdomen. That is, literally speaking, positioning the naked baby, cord still attached, “tummy to tummy” on the mother’s warm abdomen, then placing blankets over both of them. The newborn smoothly acclimates to breathing room air, smelling the amniotic fluid on its fingers, and begins searching for the mother’s breast.

This is the scenario that babies and parents should experience at their births. There is documented evidence that placing the newborn in this “skin to skin” position calms and warms the baby providing a smooth transition from labor and birth. Breathing is stabilized, blood sugars remain normal, pain is minimal, and the mother can caress the baby she worked so hard for. Mother’s colostrum is hormonally released from the breast and the placenta delivers more easily.

Early bonding with the newborn promotes that human interaction so necessary in our high-tech society. According to mammalian neuroscience, this immediate and continued intimate contact with the newborn evokes neurological behaviors necessary to fulfill our basic human needs. The healing power of human touch begins at birth. This skin-to skin contact between a mother and her baby is also beneficial for both of them at anytime. It can be used to soothe a crying baby, especially during a blood test or injection, to help a premature baby to exponentially thrive called “Kangaroo care” and to encourage a baby to breastfeed.

A study recently published in the Journal of Human Lactation demonstrated a significant relationship between skin-to-skin care and exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge. Breast milk is the best first food for a human being. Breast milk promotes healthy immune and digestive systems. To help our mothers achieve success with nursing their babies, this skin-to-skin contact must be universally promoted.

To achieve this goal, I am very fortunate to deliver babies at Tobey Hospital in Wareham. The maternity staff encourages this “sensitive period” of skin-to-skin contact at birth and throughout their stay in the hospital. Together the practitioners and the nurses have created the ideal environment to foster bonding and breastfeeding in a hospital setting.