Mother's Feeling on First Hour After Birth

During your pregnancy you began to form a bond with your baby as soon as you become aware of the precious life growing in your womb. Now, you can see and hold this little baby whom before you knew only by the bulge, the movements, and the heartbeat you heard. Inside, you gave your whole body to nurture your baby. Outside, you continue to give your face, your voice, your arms, your touch, your scent, your breast. This continuum of mother-infant and father - infant  attachment work is important; it should never be interrupted unnecessarily by hospital routines and procedures.

The first hour after birth is a sensitive period, a time when your baby's whole physiology is attuned to drinking in who you are with all of his senses alert. After an hour or so, baby will fall into a deep sleep, so unless a medical complication prevents it, your baby should be placed immediately onto your warm, soft abdomen and breasts. This initial family time should be spent touching, stroking, gazing at, talking to, and suckling your baby. This is a special time in which mothers and fathers are very high from the excitement of birth, and babies are in that state of quiet alertness that comes right after birth. Neither you nor your newborn should be deprived of this special time to look at one another, speak and listen to each other, enjoy skin-to-skin contact, and bask in each other's presence.

Does this early bonding benefit you and your baby beyond the good feelings of the moment? Medical science is continually examining what mothers have known. Study have found that mothers who have contact with their babies immediately after birth are more successful at breastfeeding, talk with their infants more and use more descriptive speech, spend more time in the face-to-face position of eye-to-eye contact, and touch and groom their infants more.

What happens when a medical complication, such as a cesarean delivery or fetal distress, temporarily separates mother and baby after birth? Is this parent - baby relationship permanently affected by a temporary separation, or can you make up for the time you were separated (delayed bonding)? This is an important question.

Parents who are unable to be with their baby immediately after birth should not feel guilty that their relationship has been permanently affected. Immediate bonding after birth is not like a one - time only glue that cements the parent - infant relationship forever. Many steps must be taken throughout the first days, weeks, and months of infancy to create a strong parent - infant attachment. There is no scientific rationale for concluding that being deprived of this initial bonding can permanently affect the parent or child. However, bonding during this biologically sensitive period does give the mother - infant relationship a head start. Spending lots of time with your baby in the weeks to come will help you overcome any disappointment you may feel if early bonding opportunities were disrupted.