Benefits of Skin to Skin Contact

Skin-to-skin contact can have lifesaving benefits for newborn babies, especially if those born prematurely. According to a news article from WMTW News 8 in Portland, Maine, hospital staff at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital reported a sharp increase in how many babies have survived through the NICU since 2016. Allan Picarillo, the Director of Neonatology, explained that integrating families into the care team (taking temperatures, changing diapers, and skin-to-skin care) of their premature newborns increases the success rate for babies being able to go home as well as staying healthy. 

Becoming a new parent is hard. You have so many questions, and no amount of preparation ever seems enough. But I encourage you to let the stress go and relax in the fact that your sweet snuggles alone are providing so much warmth and nurturement that your baby needs. Skin-to-skin contact from parents offers incredible bonding, development, health, and immune benefits! As a New England newborn care specialist, I enjoy helping families bond and settle in those first few weeks after birth. Learn more about Newborn Care Consultations below.

5 Benefits of Skin to Skin Bonding After Birth

1. Calms & Relaxes Mother & Baby

During pregnancy, babies are warm and cozy in their mother’s womb. They receive everything they need from her, from nutrition to oxygen. The delivery can be a bit traumatic for both the mom and a newborn baby. Paired with rapidly fluctuating hormones, mom has also likely experienced a lot of pain and physical exertion. Meanwhile, the baby abruptly enters into a bright, noisy, and cold world. When babies are placed on their mother’s chest for skin-to-skin contact immediately after being born, it calms both mother and child. Mom’s warm body is familiar to her baby, and Mom can get to know and finally see the little one she’s been growing for several months. You can do skin-to-skin contact with Dad, too! It will help them bond and keep Baby relaxed.

2. Initiates Breastfeeding

Right after birth, doing some skin-to-skin contact with your baby can help initiate breastfeeding. There is a phenomenon called the “breast crawl” where some newborns, when placed on their mother’s abdomen, can “crawl” up to their mother’s breast and begin feeding on their own. Doing skin-to-skin contact with your newborn allows natural instincts to kick in for both a mother and her newborn, which can be very helpful in initiating a breastfeeding relationship. 

Even for premature babies who cannot breastfeed right away, skin-to-skin contact still allows the natural bonding between mother and baby to happen. The surge of hormones associated with skin-to-skin contact can help increase the mother’s milk supply for pumping. Additionally, the baby can bond with Mom during feeding, which precedes learning how to breastfeed when both are ready.

3. Regulates Baby’s Heart Rate & Breathing

Skin-to-skin contact has been proven to improve

their heart and lung function for both preterm and full-term babies. Their heart and breathing rates became more regular and stable during skin-to-skin contact periods with their parents. Hearing the sounds of a heartbeat and feeling the warmth of a parent’s skin feels familiar and calming to the baby. 

(Source: National Library of Medicine, Pub Med)

4. Stabilizes Baby’s Body Temperature

eNewborns are vulnerable in that they aren’t very good at regulating their body temperature yet. This especially goes for premature babies, hence the need for isolettes (incubators) that keep them warm in the NICU. Skin-to-skin care works to help the baby’s body learn to regulate temperature naturally. When safe to do so, using skin-to-skin care is an effective supplement to the incubator.

5. Bonding Between Parent and Baby

Mom spent nine months growing a baby that she hasn’t been able to touch or see. When the baby is finally born, skin-to-skin contact enables both the mother and baby to use all of their senses to nurture this new and vital relationship (Dad can get in on this bonding action, too!).

There are so many benefits from skin-to-skin contact within the first hour or two after birth, but more studies show that skin-to-skin benefits go well beyond the newborn days. A long-term study of NICU babies found that babies who had skin-to-skin care had better maternal attachment behavior and enhanced cognitive development later on. 

(Source: Biological Psychiatry Journal)

Skin-to-skin contact has so many excellent benefits for both preterm and full-term babies. It is such a simple and enjoyable way to give your baby an incredible start to life with continuing benefits.  Be sure to read my other blog article about how to care for your newborn baby's skin.

If you have more questions on skin-to-skin contact or how to do it, I would love to help!

New England Newborn Care Specialist & Newborn Photographer

As a former NICU nurse, Megan Matula has over ten years of experience as a nurse in the neonatal ICU. Now, as a Newborn and Breastfeeding Specialist, The Newborn Lady offers the following services:



• Private Newborn Consultations
• Private Breastfeeding Consultations
• Newborn Photography 

If you are not a New England resident, Megan also provides virtual newborn care consultations. 

And, in addition to newborn care, Megan also offers newborn photography packages. She has been capturing amazing newborn photos for the last eight years in her newborn-only studio. Her newest studio in the New Hampshire/New England area opens Summer/Fall of 2021. With her experience caring for newborns, you can feel at ease that your baby is in the best hands with Megan.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Megan for all of your newborn needs, from trusted support to beautiful portraits of your precious newborn.