You may have heard or read about the benefits of skin-to-skin and breastfeeding with your baby right after birth, and I whole-heartedly advocate for these experiences. However, I can’t tell you how many moms stress if this doesn’t happen in the first minutes after birth, which I think is a shame. There’s just so much pressure put on these things but the fact is, some babies just aren’t hungry or interested in feeding when they’re born and some moms need time to process the birth before holding baby skin-to-skin for long periods. Other times a baby may need to be checked out or brought to the nursery. Bottom-line: no matter what happens after birth, do not stress or let guilt wash over you if your baby doesn’t latch, doesn’t want to feed, or if for some reason you are unable to hold her skin-to-skin immediately after giving birth. You will have time to bond skin-to-skin and get used to breastfeeding in the following hours so just enjoy the fact that your baby has finally arrived no matter what happpens. I recently shared this same message to a group of expecting parents who, frankly, seemed to feel a bit relieved to hear that they certainly don’t have to feel under pressure about those post-birth moments:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag-QrubAusE&w=480&h=390]
