Golden Hour After Birth
Have you ever seen a scene in a movie or TV show where the baby is immediately whisked off after birth, only to be returned bathed, cleaned and swaddled? Imagine how this would feel from the baby’s perspective - to go from the warmth of the womb to go into a stranger’s arms. To be away from the warmth of its mother. To be exposed to harsh lighting and procedures that are totally unfamiliar. It doesn’t sound right, does it?
Once your baby emerges from the comfort of the womb, where it spent nine long months, it is a biological imperative that your baby is supported through the transition from the womb to the outside world. And it takes just one simple step. Direct skin-to-skin contact with your little one, with the baby on your chest, for at least an hour after birth. This is essential for the newborn. This hour is referred to as the “Golden Hour” because it is the magical sixty minutes where you form a bond with your little one, one that has several benefits.
Benefits of the Golden Hour for the mother and baby
This eases the transition into the outside world for your baby. Your skin, touch and smell are the closest to the environment of the womb.
It creates an immediate bond between you and your baby.
Being on your chest helps your baby’s bodily systems regulate better, including the respiratory system and blood glucose levels.
The right hormones are released in both your body and your baby’s body as well. Your body releases Oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone”, which is what makes you fall in love with your baby at first sight. It also releases Prolactin, which helps the breasts release milk after birth.
It leads to delayed cord clamping. The umbilical cord that linked your baby to you and to the placenta is still full of nutrient rich blood and if it is not cut off immediately there is extra time for the blood in the cord to flow over through your baby. This has many positive outcomes in the growth and development of the baby. It increases the level of hemoglobin at birth and also improves the iron storage of your little one for the first several months of infancy.
Your skin-to-skin contact helps the 3rd and final phase of pregnancy, the expulsion of the placenta from your body, reducing the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
When your little one is one your chest, it gets exposed to your microbiome. This helps build your baby’s immunity.
Your baby begins the “breast crawl” - it has a natural instinct to “army crawl” toward the mother’s breast, latch on and kick start the breastfeeding process, by ingesting colostrum - the first milk that your breasts make. Can you imagine that a human being, brand new to the outside world, knows its way to its mother’s breast, based purely on instinct? Talk about a strong bond!
So, as long as you and your baby are well and there is no need for any medical interventions, you should be left alone to reinforce your special bond during the “Golden Hour”. Spend this time with dim lights on, murmuring to your baby (because it does recognise your voice) and delay all hospital procedures and visitors. It’s the one hour that forms the beginning of a beautiful, lifelong relationship - make sure you and your baby are left alone to cherish it.
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