The Mother Must Be The First To Hold The Baby

Hospital protocols must ensure that the first crucial contact between the mother and the child after birth is possible. The first hour of their lives is sacred for both of them.

It is as striking as it is worrisome that the World Health Organization (WHO) has itself drawn up a 16-point protocol to promote a more humanized childbirth process.

Today, in many health centers, childbirth follows such standardized guidelines that many mothers remember childbirth as something quite traumatic.

This is not good. It is also not good for some newborns to be held by relatives before the mother has had the opportunity to see and feel her own child.

Today we want to talk about this fact. It is of great importance for the emotional world of the two protagonists: the mother and the child.

Family, respect the privacy of the mother and child

When a couple goes to the hospital because labor is about to start, they never know what will happen in the next few hours. A cesarean section may be required. Or maybe the mother needs an anesthetic without having the opportunity to meet her baby until several hours later.

Our parents, brothers, uncles and aunts or friends want the best for us and they want to celebrate that moment with joy and emotion.

Of course, many of them can’t resist taking the baby out of the crib and passing him or her from arm to arm to welcome the baby and discover what he or she looks like.

But dear family, don’t do this. Few moments demand as much intimacy as the moment a woman has just given birth and needs to connect with her baby, with that beloved resident who was with her for nine months.

The importance of early contact with the mother

Many specialists speak of an ‘affective imprint’ that happens after birth. Within about one or two hours after birth, it is necessary for the mother and baby to be in contact.

Nils Bergman, a specialist in perinatal neuroscience, explains that the first 1000 minutes of a child’s life can be the key to their later development.

• We must not forget that the birth can be ‘traumatic’ for the baby. He is moved from a warm and protected environment to a strange world. A world where someone suddenly grabs him, cuts the umbilical cord, washes him and puts a label on him.

• All those stimuli are annoying for the baby. There is no more amniotic fluid around him to absorb any movement. Suddenly strange enemies enter his head: stress, fear and panic.
• All these stimuli could be avoided in a simple way, namely by taking the baby to its mother. There is no rush to cut or wash the umbilical cord. Most importantly, he finds peace in his mother’s warm skin and pleasant scent, which are now part of his life.
• That peaceful impression generates enough changes in his brain. There is no stress or anxiety. The mother, in turn, will breastfeed and thereby release oxytocin. Everything is calm and balanced. A wonderful first contact lays the foundation of the mother-child bond.

Family brings too many smells and stimuli

We have to put ourselves in the baby’s shoes. If you haven’t met your mother yet, walking around in the arms of the family will leave you feeling overstimulated and lost.

There are too many different scents. Too many strange sensations and sounds, and too many diffuse shadows over the baby.

We must be very aware of one essential aspect: the only two things a baby needs when he is born is his mother and the nourishment she gives. That’s all.

General advice for relatives before birth

Above all, we should celebrate that both the mother and the baby are doing well. Next, we must be sensible and understand one thing: there will be enough time to meet, love, hug and touch the baby who is now part of our family or personal circle.

So, dear relatives, remember these tips:

• Respect the intimacy of the mother and baby, as well as the couple.
• You don’t have to touch the newborn baby. There will be time enough. However, don’t hold it until the mother has done so.
• If you are going to touch the baby, remember to have clean hands. Don’t kiss him either! There really is still time…
• Also, don’t let many family members into the room at the same time. What the mother and the baby need is rest.