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Guest Blog - The Power of Skin-To-Skin
- thesmartdoula
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
Benefits for Baby, Benefits for Mama, and Overcoming the Challenges
What Is Skin-to-Skin?
Skin-to-skin simply means placing your baby directly onto your bare chest, with no clothing between you (apart from a nappy if needed), often covered with a blanket to keep yourself and baby warm.
Your body becomes your baby’s first environment outside the womb. Your warmth regulates their temperature.
Your breathing regulates their breathing.
Your heartbeat reminds them of home.
For a newborn who has spent nine months listening to your heartbeat and feeling your movements, skin-to-skin provides familiarity and safety during a very big transition.
The First Language Between Mother and Baby
Before babies understand words, they understand touch. Skin-to-skin contact is one of the most instinctive, powerful ways a baby and mother connect in the early hours, days and months after birth.
Often associated with the golden hour after delivery, skin-to-skin is far more than just a moment immediately after birth — it can be an ongoing tool to support bonding, emotional wellbeing and physical regulation for both baby and mother throughout the fourth trimester, and even beyond.
Yet despite its simplicity, many families don't fully understand just how powerful it can be. Let's explore why skin-to-skin matters so deeply — and how to overcome the common challenges that sometimes make it feel difficult.
The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin for Baby
Research consistently shows that skin-to-skin provides a wide range of physical and emotional benefits for newborns.
Skin-to-Skin Helps Regulate Baby's Temperature
Your body acts as a natural temperature regulator. If the baby is slightly cold, your chest warms up to compensate. If the baby is warm, your body helps cool them down. Many professionals refer to a mother's chest as a “natural incubator”.
In this study, skin-to-skin reduced newborn hypothermia from 42% to 2%
Skin-to-Skin Supports Heart Rate and Breathing
Babies held skin-to-skin often have more stable heart rates and breathing patterns compared to babies placed separately in a cot or bassinet. Your nervous system helps regulate theirs.
Skin-to-Skin Encourages Breastfeeding
Skin-to-skin stimulates a baby's natural feeding instincts. Babies often begin to root/crawl toward the breast and latch more easily when they are placed directly on their mother's chest. This early contact can help establish breastfeeding and support milk production through the oxytocin release for mum.
Skin-to-Skin Supports Brain Development
Close contact stimulates important hormones and neurological pathways that support early brain development. These early sensory experiences help babies learn safety, trust and connection.
Skin-to-Skin Reduces Stress in Newborns
The outside world is a huge adjustment for a newborn. Skin-to-skin reduces cortisol (the stress hormone) and promotes calmness. Many babies cry less and settle faster when held skin-to-skin.
Skin-to-Skin Support Immune System Building
When a baby is placed on their mother’s chest after birth, they are exposed to the beneficial bacteria that naturally live on her skin. This helps to seed the baby’s gut microbiome — the community of bacteria that supports immune function, digestion, and overall health.
The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin for Mothers
While we often talk about the benefits for the baby, skin-to-skin is equally powerful for mothers. Skin-to-Skin Contact - La Leche League International
Skin-to-Skin Supports Bonding
Skin-to-skin releases oxytocin, often called the love hormone. This hormone plays a key role in emotional bonding between mother and baby. For some mothers, the instant rush of love isn't immediate after birth, and that's completely normal. Skin-to-skin can gently support this connection to grow.
Skin-to-Skin Helps Regulate Maternal Emotions
The early postpartum days bring enormous hormonal shifts, particularly around days 3–5. Skin-to-skin can help calm the nervous system, reduce cortisol (stress hormone), promote oxytocin (love hormone) and support emotional wellbeing during this vulnerable time.
Skin-to-Skin Encourages Milk Production
Oxytocin released during skin-to-skin also supports milk let-down and breastfeeding. Even if breastfeeding is challenging initially, skin-to-skin can still help stimulate supply and encourage the baby's feeding instincts.
Skin-to-Skin Supports Postpartum Recovery
Holding your baby close encourages rest, slows your breathing and creates moments of calm during an often-overwhelming time. These small pauses of connection can be deeply grounding.
Barriers to Skin-to-Skin and How to Overcome Them
Skin-to-skin contact is recommended immediately after birth and in the postnatal period, but sometimes barriers can make this more difficult. Understanding these barriers and knowing how to overcome them can help families to still experience the many physiological and emotional benefits.
Caesarean Birth and Skin-to-Skin
Barrier: After a caesarean birth, medical procedures, monitoring, or the surgical environment can delay immediate skin-to-skin.
How to overcome: Request skin-to-skin in theatre if possible. Ask for the baby to be placed across the chest, supported by the staff or birth partner.
If mum is unable immediately, the birth partner can do skin-to-skin until mum is ready.
Include skin-to-skin preferences in your birth plan.
Baby Needs Medical Attention
Barrier: If the baby requires monitoring or medical support after birth, immediate skin-to-skin may not be
possible.
How to overcome: Skin-to-skin can often happen later, even with monitoring equipment. Ask staff:
“When can we start skin-to-skin?”
Hand hugs, touch, and voice are still beneficial if the baby is in NICU.
Parents can often do skin-to-skin care once the baby is stable.
Mum Feeling Unwell or Exhausted
Barrier: After a long labour, blood loss, medication, or exhaustion, mum may not feel able to hold the baby safely.
How to overcome: Side-lying skin-to-skin in bed with support. The birth partner can do skin-to-skin instead. Skin-to-skin can happen hours or days later — it’s never too late.
Lack of Knowledge or Confidence
Barrier: Some parents worry about holding the baby safely or don’t realise how important skin-to-skin is beyond the first hour.
How to overcome: Educate during pregnancy about safe skin-to-skin positioning.
Remember: skin-to-skin can be done anytime — after baths, during unsettled periods, before feeds, before sleep.
Use the T.I.C.K.S safe positioning guidance (airway visible, baby upright, etc.).
Visitors Interrupting the Golden Hour
Barrier: Visitors arriving too soon can interrupt early bonding and skin-to-skin time.
How to overcome: Set expectations before birth: “We’re taking a few hours before visitors so we can bond and do skin-to-skin.” Put a note in birth plan: No visitors until after first feed / first few hours.
Cultural or Social Expectations (Passing Baby Around)
Barrier: Family members often want to hold the baby immediately.
How to overcome: Explain that skin-to-skin helps regulate baby’s temperature, heart rate, breathing, and blood sugar. You can say: “We’re doing skin-to-skin first, you’ll get cuddles soon.”
Breastfeeding Challenges
Barrier: If feeding is difficult, parents sometimes stop skin-to-skin.
How to overcome: Skin-to-skin improves feeding reflexes and milk production. Try skin-to-skin before and during feeds to encourage feeding cues.
Skin-to-skin can be done alongside formula feeding, combination feeding, and exclusively pumping.
Skin-to-skin is not about doing everything perfectly after birth. It’s about connection, closeness, and giving your baby the safest, most familiar place they know - you, whether it happens immediately after birth, hours later, or in the days and weeks that follow.
Every moment of skin-to-skin supports your baby’s development and your transition into parenthood. It is simple, powerful, and something only you can provide.
Jade - The Postnatal Doula
Hey beautiful Mamas, I'm Jade.
Mum, wife and postnatal doula. I have a love for travel, yoga, dancing and all things spiritual.
My passion for supporting mums grew from my own postnatal experience! Mums deserve to feel truly held and heard, and that's my mission for the mums I support.
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