A new study has suggested that skin-to-skin bonding, where a new baby is placed directly onto his mother’s chest, is important for his biology.
The study showed that a mother’s body regulates and stabilises her baby’s biology when held in ‘skin-to-skin,’ the Mirror reported.
Dr Susan Ludington, an expert in mother and baby contact, conducted investigation using heart rate, oxygen and breathing monitors as well as an infrared technology to capture body temperature.
Dr Ludington monitored three new mums holding their days’ old babies in a swaddled position and then having a skin-to-skin contact.
All three mums witnessed how this skin to skin contact regulated their babies’ breathing, heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature within five minutes of being held in this position.?
The extraordinary moments, which were captured on film, give a unique insight into the practice.
Dr Ludington said: “For this first time in this film we can actually see how being on your chest helps stabilise everything for baby; within five minutes of being held in skin to skin, we witness these mothers’ chests regulating their babies’ temperatures beautifully.”
She added, “This happens because both baby and mother synchronise and regulate each other’s biology when skin to skin contact occurs.”
PTI