The newborn baby smell . . . it’s addictive. Ask almost every new mom (or any woman), and she will tell you the same thing. As soon as you see and smell your little one, all you want to do is cuddle them close and breathe them in. *sigh* It’s normal to have that instinct to bring your baby close. A recent study found that a newborn’s smell is as addictive as drugs or food.¹ Not surprising, but isn’t that wild?! Did you know there are many benefits to bringing baby close? And right after giving birth is the best and most crucial time to have skin-to-skin contact with a newborn baby.

7 Benefits of Skin to Skin Contact With Newborns

Immediately bringing baby up to the mother’s chest and not having a blanket or clothing between the two is beneficial. It’s something every woman should do! This is called skin-to-skin or kangaroo care.^4,10 Skin-to-skin time can wait if mom or baby is distressed or needs immediate medical attention. But if everyone is healthy and doing well, there’s no reason not to do it. Checking the baby’s weight and doing their measurements can wait! Multiple studies have proven that moms should do skin-to-skin at least an hour after birth.²

If you want to know why you should do it — besides the newborn smell — here are some benefits of skin-to-skin that prove it’s the best thing to do with your newborn:

1. Keeps Baby Warm, Regulates Their Breathing, and Keeps Their Blood Sugar Levels Higher

Did you know your breasts and abdomen can stabilize your baby’s vitals and keep them warmer than a baby warmer/incubator can?¹¹ It’s true! Mothers can naturally adjust “the warmth of their breasts to keep their infants at the optimal temperature,” says Midwifery Today. “Maternal breast temperature can rise rapidly, then fall off as baby is warmed. As the baby starts to cool, the breasts heat up again — as much as 2 degrees C in two minutes!”⁸ That’s 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Isn’t that incredible?!

Also, because newborn babies’ systems are immature, they can sometimes temporarily stop breathing and/or have slow heart rates.^12,13 Most of the time, they can begin breathing again on their own. But their little bodies can learn more quickly from the cues you provide by breathing and your heart beating to organize their essential systems. As you breathe, baby will synchronize their breath and heartbeat to yours.¹⁴ There isn’t a baby warmer in the world that can do that!

2. Improves Chances of Breastfeeding

Another considerable benefit is that babies are more likely to nurse sooner and longer.^2,15 You don’t even have to force them to your breast! Have you heard of the breast crawl? Your baby can find your breasts and latch themself on.¹⁶ (Sometimes, they need a little assistance if you had a medicated birth or if they have lip tie- or tongue-tie.^17,18) The sooner you establish breastfeeding, the faster it can help establish mama’s milk supply.¹⁹

A 2011 review from the “Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews” showed how skin-to-skin contact promotes breastfeeding.⁴ Lactation consultant Nancy Mohrbacher explains, “In a study of 21 babies after vaginal birth, three researchers divided them into two groups. One group was laid skin-to-skin on the mother’s body, examined briefly, then returned to skin-to-skin contact for two hours. The other group was shown to the mother, examined, swaddled with baby’s hands free, and then returned to the mother. The swaddled group showed delayed feeding behaviors, suckled less competently at their first breastfeeding, and established effective breastfeeding later.”^3,4,9

3. Enhances Bonding

Many professionals in the birthing industry, including myself, call the first hour after birth “The Golden Hour.”²⁰ This is when “mother and child are best primed to form an intense chemical connection with each other,” writes Patty Onderko, a mother of twin boys. What makes “The Golden Hour” so “golden” is the hormone oxytocin — the “love hormone.”^2,21 This helps the uterus contract during labor, plays a critical role in bonding, and helps with lactation.²¹ Patty had a cesarean, resulting in just a brief moment of contact after her boys arrived. I love that she says no one factor makes or breaks us as mothers. I couldn’t agree more! This isn’t to say women who have cesareans can’t practice skin-to-skin (kangaroo care). They often can!²²

4. Helps Baby Cry Less

The 2011 review mentioned earlier (a review of 34 randomized studies involving 2,177 mothers and their babies) showed that babies exposed to skin-to-skin contact interacted more with their mothers and cried less than babies receiving usual hospital care. This can lead to lower stress levels for a new mother who’s otherwise unsure how to calm her crying infant.⁴ It’s another reason I highly encourage skin-to-skin as well as babywearing. Dads can do it, too!

5. Makes Baby Sleep Better

Kangaroo care helps your baby have better, more quiet, and longer sleep.¹⁰ It also helps lower mom’s anxiety and lessen her postpartum pain.²³ This is huge! Mothers should rest with their babies on their chests and do skin-to-skin so they can both sleep more soundly.

6. Improves Baby’s Gut Health and Immunity

It also helps baby’s digestive system mature.²⁴ One study reports that the contact “stimulates the vagal nerve, causing increased growth in the size of the villi in the newborn gut, which provides a larger surface area for the absorption of nutrition.” There’s also “less chance of infection because babies given kangaroo mother care become colonized with the bacteria on their mother’s skin. This causes her milk to produce antibodies in response and makes it specifically protective against those bacteria. In other words, it strengthens their immune system. This is by far one of the main kangaroo care benefits in both poor and wealthy countries alike.” — Nurture Through Touch.⁵ It’s a great thing to do if your baby is experiencing colic, since this is sometimes linked to gut/digestive issues.²⁵

7. Reduces Postpartum Depression (PPD)

So many things can cause women to have postpartum depression. New research suggests that skin-to-skin contact immediately following birth may reduce PPD in moms.⁷ Holding, kissing, snuggling, smelling, and breastfeeding the baby right after birth stimulates intricate hormonal patterns within the mother that reinforce mothering behaviors and feelings of well-being.⁶ Some experts believe that if she can’t experience those things, the mother’s body interprets this as something wrong with the birth and/or baby. This can induce a stress/grief response that, in some cases, may create feelings of anxiety or depression.

According to a study in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological, and Neonatal Nursing, “skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby may be an alternative therapy for mothers trying to avoid taking medication. The study reveals that new mothers who had six hours of skin-to-skin contact during the first week, followed by at least two hours during the next month, reported fewer depressive symptoms. Saliva samples confirmed lower cortisol levels, a marker of stress, than their counterparts. For a baby, skin-to-skin contact helps fulfill the need for human contact and promotes bonding. The touching releases the hormone oxytocin in the mother, which encourages infant/mother attachment and increases the feeling of well-being and relaxation.”⁷

What’s also great is that it’s free and has no side effects. “Unlike other interventions to reduce depressive symptoms in the postpartum months, skin-to-skin care is easy to use, readily accessible, cost-effective, and without adverse effects,” said AWHONN’s Chief Executive Officer, Karen Peddicord, Ph.D., RN. “Therefore, women’s health professionals can encourage their patients to practice mother/infant skin-to-skin care as an intervention strategy to lessen depressive symptoms and anxiety while improving maternal mood.”

Who Can Do Skin-To-Skin?

According to childbirth educator Robin Weiss, “Skin-to-skin with baby is good for all types of births, assuming your baby is stable, as most full-term babies are at birth. Even after a cesarean birth (C-section), mom can hold baby skin to skin or dad if mom is unavailable. Skin-to-skin care for preterm babies is also important, and many NICUs will direct you in how to use skin-to-skin care to help stabilize your new baby.” So, if you want to be skin-to-skin, let your practitioners know before you go into labor and have your baby!

The Bottom Line

To recap, skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth lasts for at least an hour. And it should continue for as many hours as possible throughout the day and night for the first few weeks. It also has numerous positive effects. For mom, it helps reduce her chances of having PPD. And the baby:^{2,10,11,15,26,27}

• Maintains their body temperature at normal levels better than in an incubator
• Maintains their heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure at normal levels
• Has higher blood sugar
• Will indicate to their mother when they’re ready to feed
• More likely to latch on well
• More likely to breastfeed exclusively and breastfeed longer
• Bonds better with the mother and father
• Less likely to cry
• Sleeps better and longer
• Has better gut health and stronger immunity

Who wouldn’t want their baby to have all these benefits? And it’s completely free! So, did you do skin-to-skin with your newborn?