Making an Attachment
Bonding with your baby is probably one of the most pleasurable aspects of infant care. And always Mom and baby staying together. You can begin by cradling your baby and gently rocking or stroking him or her. If you and your partner both hold and touch your infant frequently, your little one will soon come to know the difference between your touches. Both of you can also take the opportunity to be “skin to skin” with your newborn by holding him or her against your own skin when feeding or cradling.
Babies, especially premature babies and those with medical problems, may respond to infant massage. Because babies aren’t as strong as adults, you’ll need to massage your baby very gently. Before trying out infant massage, be sure to educate yourself on proper techniques by checking out the many books, and websites. You can also contact your local hospital to find out if there are classes in infant massage in your area.
Bond is immediate
Sometimes, the bond is immediate – parents fall in love the instant they set eyes on their little “bundle of joy”. Other times, bonding with the baby takes longer. Studies have found that about 20% of new moms and dads feel no real emotional attachment to their newborn in the hours after delivery. Sometimes, it takes weeks or even months to feel that attachment. If you haven’t begun bonding with your baby, don’t feel anxious or guilty – it should come with time.
Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding are both natural times for bonding. Infants respond to the smell and touch of their mothers, as well as the responsiveness of the parents to their needs. In an uncomplicated birth, caregivers try to take advantage of the infant’s alert period immediately after birth and encourage feeding and holding of the baby. However, this isn’t always possible and, though ideal, immediate contact isn’t necessary for the future bonding of the child and parent.
Adoptive parents may be concerned about bonding with their baby. Although it might happen sooner for some than others, adopted babies and their parents can bond just as well as biological parents and their children.
KEEPING MOTHERS AND THEIR BABIES TOGETHER
Babies stay warm and cry less, and breastfeeding gets off to a better start when mothers and their babies have frequent time together, beginning at birth. When Mom and baby staying together and Mothers learn to recognize their baby’s needs, responding tenderly and lovingly. A connection that lasts a lifetime begins to form.
THE MOMENT OF BIRTH
Nature prepares you and your baby to need and seek each other from the moment of birth. Oxytocin, the hormone that causes your uterus to contract, will stimulate “mothering” feelings after birth as you touch, gaze at, and breastfeed your baby. More oxytocin will be released as you hold your baby skin-to-skin. Your brain will release endorphins, narcotic-like hormones that enhance these mothering feelings. These hormones help you feel calm and responsive and cause the temperature of your breasts to rise, keeping your baby warm. Because of the normal “adrenaline rush” babies have right after birth, your baby will be bright, alert, and ready to nurse soon after birth. During the hours and days following birth. You will learn to understand your baby’s cues and unique way of communicating with you.
SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT
Healthy babies placed skin-to-skin on their mothers adjust easily to life outside the womb. They stay warm more easily, cry less, have lower levels of stress hormones, and breastfeed sooner than newborns who are separated from their mothers. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact continue beyond the first hour. The longer and more often mothers and babies are skin-to-skin in the hours and days after the birth, the greater the benefit. Babies who are cold, including premature babies, return to a normal temperature more quickly when held skin-to-skin by their mothers.
When a mother and her baby are skin-to-skin, the baby is exposed to the normal bacteria on the mother’s skin. Which may protect the baby from becoming sick due to harmful germs (WHO, 1998). Research suggests that women who hold their babies skin-to-skin following birth care for their babies with more confidence. And recognize and respond to their babies’ needs sooner than mothers who are separated from their babies.
Other benefits to babies from skin-to-skin contact include easier breathing, higher and more stable blood sugar levels. And a natural progression to breastfeeding. Babies placed skin-to-skin with their mothers after birth have a natural instinct to attach to the breast and begin breastfeeding, usually within 1 hour. Mothers who hold their babies skin-to-skin after birth are more likely to make greater amounts of breast milk, breastfeed longer, and breastfeed without offering formula. Experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding—no other foods or liquids—during the first 6 months of life.
ROOMING-IN WITH YOUR BABY
In the days following birth, whether at home, in a hospital, or in a birth center, mothers’ and babies’ physical and emotional needs for each other continue. The more time two people spend together, the sooner they get to know each other. Mothers who are with their babies for longer periods of time, including during the night, have higher scores on tests that measure the strength of a mother’s attachment to her baby). While together, mothers quickly learn their babies’ needs and how best to care for, soothe, and comfort their newborns.
When you go home, Mom and baby staying together and keeping your baby close can help you learn her early feeding cues. While she is safest sleeping in a crib or cot beside your bed at night. Your very presence calms your baby.
Keeping a new born baby with mother continuously during the day and at night (called “rooming-in”) has many benefits. Rooming-in with your baby makes breastfeeding easier. Studies suggest that mothers who room-in with their babies make more milk, breastfeed longer, and are more likely to breastfeed exclusively compared with mothers. Who have limited contact with their babies or whose babies are in the nursery at night.
Why rooming-in is better for babies.
Rooming-in is better for babies. While babies are with their mothers, they cry less, soothe more quickly, and spend more time quietly sleeping. Babies who room-in with their mothers take in more breast milk, gain more weight per day. And are less likely to develop jaundice, a yellowing of the skin that sometimes requires treatment.
Normal baby care (e.g., exams, vital signs, and baths) can be done while rooming-in. You can be close to your baby and even help with some of the care if you wish. Babies bathed by their mothers and held skin-to-skin stay just as warm as babies bathed in the nursery and placed in warmers.
Well-meaning friends and family may advise you to let your baby stay in the nursery at night so that you can get more sleep. However, studies show that mothers whose babies are cared for in the nursery do not get more sleep than mothers who room-in with their babies at night. Many mothers sleep more peacefully knowing that their babies are with them.
Rooming-in may have other long-term benefits for mothers and babies. Research suggests that rates of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment are lower for mothers who have frequent and extended contact with their newborns during the early postpartum period.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EXPERTS
The benefits of keeping a newborn baby with mother together are so impressive that many
professional organizations have made recommendations promoting skin-to-skin contact and rooming in and opposing routine separation of mothers and babies after birth. These organizations include the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (2003); American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP Expert Workgroup on Breastfeeding, 2005); American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women & Committee on Obstetric Practice, 2007). Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (2000); International Lactation Consultant Association (1999); and World Health Organization (1998). So this is the end and hope all new born baby with mother remain safe and enjoy their life. Try to staying together with mom and baby every free time.
