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Top tips for skin-to-skin with your newborn baby

Midwife and childbirth educator, Avril Flynn, has teamed up with Irish brand, Waterwipes, in support of Kangaroo Care Day to highlight the importance of skinto-skin activity with newborn babies. She has shared her top tips on how to provide this care. Skin-to-skin or Kangaroo care has enormous benefits for parents and baby. It’s so simple to do and is a great way to not only bond with your perfect little human, but has huge health and well-being benefits too! Skin-to-skin should be done as soon as possible after birth, for as long as you can and as often as you can (continue at home too!). Kangaroo care for pre-term infants, as well as skin-to-skin for term infants, is the best gift you can give your new baby.

The correct position is sitting or lying upright, with you baby just in a nappy on your bare chest (no bra or top) and a blanket over both of you.

Request on your birth plan or birth preferences that if your baby is well straight after born, you would like 60 minutes of uninterrupted skin-to-skin (no dressing or weighing, baby checks can be done while your baby is on your chest). Skin-to-skin is amazing for babies (it regulates temperature, hormones, breathing, stress levels, blood sugar) and for parents (reduces stress, increases oxytocin and dopamine and strengthens bonding), so it’s not just for mum or the birthing person; dad, birth partner or co-parent can get all the benefits too.

One of the key benefits is that skin-to-skin contact inoculates your baby with all the natural micro-organisms from their parents’ skin. It is important to be conscious of over-bathing your baby and to use a non-medicated baby wipe such as Waterwipes. Waterwipes are 99.9% purified water with just a drop of fruit extract and are purer than cotton wool and water so are suitable on even the most delicate skin. For more information, visit: waterwipes.com