It’s easy to believe that skin-to-skin contact (aka Kangaroo Care) with your baby promotes bonding, but research has shown it does so much more for the health of you and your baby!

Skin-to-skin should be initiated as soon as your little one is born. This is something that can be discussed as part of your birth plan with your care provider and is already the normal practice at many hospitals and birthing centers. Midwives will typically prioritize it more than doctors, but unless there is some kind of emergency, research has shown us that your baby should be on your bare chest for the first hour of their life. Your little one can benefit the most from skin-to-skin during their first 3 months of life if born full-term or the first 6 months if premature, so make it a part of your daily routine!

Here are just a few additional proven benefits:

• Helps baby maintain body temperature
• Higher oxygen levels in baby
• Improved brain development
• Stabilizes baby’s heart rate and breathing
• Improved weight gain in baby
• Stronger immune system
• More positive and successful breastfeeding experience
• Lower risk of postpartum bleeding
• Lower risk of postpartum depression

Now for some tips…

• Get dad involved! Baby can still get almost all the benefits from snuggling anyone who has a bare chest for them to lay on.
• Less is more! Take baby’s clothes off and just keep them in a diaper.
• Don’t forget a blanket! Make sure to still cover your baby’s back with a blanket so they don’t get cold.
• Make it easy for yourself! If breastfeeding, take extra time before or after a feed to do skin-to-skin.