Skin to Skin Contact Immediately After Cesarean: Benefits to Mom and Baby
Skin to Skin Contact Immediately after Cesarean: Benefits to Mom and Baby Stacie Nichols Chamberlain College of Nursing NR 451: Capstone Course Professor Swartzwelder August 6, 2012
Introduction:
Kangaroo care is defined as the way of “holding a preterm or full term infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact between the infant and the person holding it. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held against the parent’s bare chest. Kangaroo Care (also Kangaroo Maternal [Mother] Care or Skin-to-Skin Contact and Breastfeeding) is a method used to restore the unique mother-infant bond following the sudden separation during the birth experience particularly in premature births”( www.med.umich.edu/nicu/pdf/C.3KangarooCare.pdf, 2010). Mothers are more likely to be able to practice skin to skin contact or kangaroo care following a vaginal delivery versus a cesarean which is seen as a medical procedure and not a delivery. Infants born to mothers via cesarean are usually whisked away to a nursery and are separated from their mother for as long as two hours. Infants most alert period is the first one to two hours after delivery and most babies born via cesarean spend this time in the nursery away from their mothers and once they are reunited with their mothers they are now in a deeper sleep state and tend to not breastfeed as well as babies that are born vaginally and allowed skin to skin contact immediately. This paper focuses on the need to change the way we take care of mothers and infants that give birth via cesarean and allow them the same bonding experience as mothers that give birth to their infants
Introduction:
Kangaroo care is defined as the way of “holding a preterm or full term infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact between the infant and the person holding it. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held against the parent’s bare chest. Kangaroo Care (also Kangaroo Maternal [Mother] Care or Skin-to-Skin Contact and Breastfeeding) is a method used to restore the unique mother-infant bond following the sudden separation during the birth experience particularly in premature births”( www.med.umich.edu/nicu/pdf/C.3KangarooCare.pdf, 2010). Mothers are more likely to be able to practice skin to skin contact or kangaroo care following a vaginal delivery versus a cesarean which is seen as a medical procedure and not a delivery. Infants born to mothers via cesarean are usually whisked away to a nursery and are separated from their mother for as long as two hours. Infants most alert period is the first one to two hours after delivery and most babies born via cesarean spend this time in the nursery away from their mothers and once they are reunited with their mothers they are now in a deeper sleep state and tend to not breastfeed as well as babies that are born vaginally and allowed skin to skin contact immediately. This paper focuses on the need to change the way we take care of mothers and infants that give birth via cesarean and allow them the same bonding experience as mothers that give birth to their infants
References: Berg, O., & Hung, K. J. (2011). Early Skin-to-Skin to Improve Breastfeeding After Cesarean Birth. JOGNN: Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 40S18-9. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2011.01242_24. Erlandsson, K., Dsilna, A., Fagerberg, I., & Christensson, K. (2007). Skin-to-skin care with the father after cesarean birth and its effect on newborn crying and prefeeding behavior. Birth: Issues In Perinatal Care, 34(2), 105-114. Gouchon, Silvia; Gregori, Dario; Picotto, Amabile; Patrucco, Giovanna; Nangeroni, Marco; Di Giulio, Paola(2010) Skin-to-Skin Contact After Cesarean Delivery: An Experimental Study. Nursing Research, 59(2) 78-84 Morrison, B. (2006) Kangaroo Care: Natures Best for our Little Ones www.preciousimagecreations.com/presentations/kangaroocare.pdf University of Michigan, Holden Newborn Intensive Care website. Kangaroo Care www.med.umich.edu/nicu/pdf/C.3KangarooCare.pdf