Benefits of Skin-to-skin

There are now a multitude of studies that show that mothers and babies should be together, skin-to-skin (baby naked, not swaddled), immediately after birth, as well as later. Skin-to-skin contact, which should last for at least an hour a day, has the following positive effects on the baby:

• More likely to latch on and latch well
• Has more stable and normal skin temperatures
• Has more stable and normal heart rates and blood pressures
• Has higher blood sugars
• Is less likely to cry
• Is more likely to breastfeed exclusively longer