What scientific studies reveal about skin to skin care and babywearing.

What Scientific Studies Reveal About Skin to Skin

reading time: 2 minutes

As humans, we crave warmth, comfort, and a sense of belonging; as it turns out, this desire is evident immediately after birth. Recent studies show that skin-to-skin contact (and baby wearing) provide a ton of benefits for you and your baby.

Here are 9 Amazing Findings:

IMPROVES INFANT HEALTH

Compared with babies who are swaddled or kept in a crib, skin-to-skin babies stay warmer, calmer, cry less, and have healthier blood sugar levels[i].

PROMOTES BREASTFEEDING SUCCESS

Babies who experience skin-to-skin breastfeed better. They also continue to keep nursing an average of six weeks longer[ii].

REVEALS SUPER HUMAN POWERS

When a mother and her child are skin to skin, the temperature of moms skin adjusts to help regulate her infant’s body temperature[iii]. (ie: Amazingly, mom’s skin will cool, to help bring down a baby’s fever)

SPURS BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

The close interaction of skin to skin and baby wearing stimulates brain activity and trains the brain to make new make connections. The more experiences that baby is having, the more connections in the brain. Most brain growth occurs in the 1st year of life – LalaBu

GETS DAD INVOLVED

Dads should snuggle, too. Studies show parents who practice skin-to-skin and hold their children close are more relaxed and in tune with their infants needs.[iv].

HELPS REGULATE BREATHING

Skin-to-skin stimulates healthy infant breathing patterns. Studies have found that when a mom exhales, there’s a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the exhaled air, which initiates her infant to take a breath and results in synchronized breathing[v].

INCREASE COFIDENCE AND ATTACHMENT

When full skin-to-skin contact isn’t feasible, baby wearing is a great alternative. It’s like a full body hug that promotes closeness, stimulates the release of oxytocin, boost attachment, and happiness for parent and child. –LatchPal by Happy Fig

IT’S NATURAL

Skin-to-Skin and baby wearing is natural. Why not give it a try?!

Written by Melissa LaHann, Founder and CEO of Happy Fig, LLC in collaboration with Lalabu

Melissa is the inventor of LatchPal , the first nursing clip of its kind. LatchPal is a a breastfeeding shirt clip that holds up a mother’s shirt during breastfeeding. It eliminates shirt re-positioning and feeding disruptions, and helps a mom nurse hands-free in comfort to maximize milk flow. LatchPal was designed with moms in mind. The multi-use solution only requires one hand to latch. It’s a must-have breastfeeding accessory and essential for post-partum moms, pumping moms, and nursing in public.

All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. LatchPal makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, current-ness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.

Thank you to our sources:

[i] skin-to-skin contact, baby, you, benefits | Cleveland Clinic

[ii] skin-to-skin contact, baby, you, benefits | Cleveland Clinic

[iii] University of Akron, College of Nursing, Akron, OH, USA. 2005 Jun;32(2):115-21. Newborn temperature during skin-to-skin breastfeeding in couples having breastfeeding difficulties. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15918868