Skin-to-skin at a vaginal birth

Description

In these special films, families share their experiences of skin to skin with their babies
at different stages.

Bec is shown with Eliza a few minutes after being born with her skin-to-skin on her upper stomach and close to the middle of her breast, she is covered with a towel. Eliza is moving and sucking her fingers and hands and moving her head to look at Bec. Bec is stroking her head as Eliza rests. The narrator is explaining the concept and detail of skin-to-skin and how it is a simple technique that helps mum and baby to overcome the stress of birth, can help establish breastfeeding and a bond which can last a lifetime. The narrator explains that the clamping of the cord can take place while Eliza is skin-to-skin and that weighing can wait for a while. When appropriate, weighing can take place with baby placed on her front so as not to distress her. The narrator also talks about the action of the hormones produced by Bec and Eliza and how not washing Eliza will help the action of those hormones in stimulating Bec’s breastmilk. The clip then shows footage of babies in a group with the narrator explaining how skin-to-skin is for every baby followed by Saskia talking about her home birth and how different it was for her to have skin-to-skin with her baby immediately after birth as she was not able to hold her first baby until 3 hours after the birth and how the skin-to skin helped her bonding and breastfeeding.

Bec & Eliza, and Saskia

Produced by Qban8 Films
Music by Kevin Macleod, incompetech.com
Copyright 2011 Real Baby Milk CIC