Skin-to-skin care with kangarooing

Skin-to-skin contact helps babies to adjust to life outside the womb, while supporting mothers as they develop a close, loving relationship with their baby. Researchers have even found that a lack of skin contact can have a negative impact on the baby’s development. This is why NIVEA supports UNICEF UK’s work to ensure that babies on neonatal units get as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.

“For both mother and baby, skin-to-skin contact calms and reassures.”

NIVEA has made a donation to fund UNICEF UK’s National Neonatal Project, an initiative designed to support 18 neonatal units in the UK to achieve Baby Friendly accreditation. Skin-to-skin contact is a part of UNICEF UK’s Baby Friendly standards and helps babies adjust to life outside the womb.

How does it work?

Skin-to-skin contact is usually referred to as the practice where a baby is dried and laid directly on their mother’s bare chest after birth, both of them covered in a warm blanket and left for at least an hour or until after the first feed. Skin-to-skin contact can also take place any time a baby needs comforting or calming. Skin-to-skin contact is also vital in neonatal units, where it is often known as ‘kangaroo care’. Hospitals that work with UNICEF UK are supported to enable skin-to-skin contact time for parents and babies. This helps parents to bond with their baby, as well as supporting better physical and developmental outcomes for the baby.

Why is skin-to-skin contact important?

Calms and relaxes both mother and baby
Regulates the baby’s heart rate and breathing, helping them to better adapt to life outside the womb
Stimulates digestion and an interest in feeding
Regulates temperature
Enables colonisation of the baby’s skin with the mother’s friendly bacteria, thus providing protection against infection
Stimulates the release of hormones to support breastfeeding and mothering

Additional benefits for babies in the neonatal unit:

Improves oxygen saturation
Reduces cortisol (stress) levels particularly following painful procedures
Encourages pre-feeding behaviour
Assists with growth
May reduce hospital stay
If the mother expresses following a period of skin-to-skin contact, her milk volume will improve and the milk expressed will contain the most up-to-date antibodies

This is why NIVEA supports UNICEF UK’s work to ensure that babies on neonatal units get as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.

Find out more.

Unicef website

*UNICEF UK does not endorse any company, product, brand or service.