The Golden Hour

During our antenatal classes we spend a good amount of time discussing the first days and weeks with a newborn baby. We think about feeding cues, handling a new baby as well as the first bath and using a sling or swaddle. But our classes cover baby care right from the first minute you meet your wee one. It seems to me like most people have heard or read about 'The Golden Hour' but haven't always had a full explanation around what happens in the first minutes of meeting your baby and why it matters. I hope you find this helpful!

What is the Golden Hour?

Some people call the first hour they have with their baby the 'golden hour' or the 'power hour'. These phrases refer to the uninterrupted period immediately after birth when parents and baby remain skin-to-skin, getting to know one another in a calm, protected environment. Whilst you remain skin to skin with your baby, the midwives will continue to check on your baby's colour and heart rate, observing them closely. They might gently dry your baby as well as making sure there is opportunity for your baby to latch onto the breast too if that's what you want to do. Regardless of type of birth, skin-to-skin should be routinely offered. It might be that you would prefer your partner to have this initial contact and that's great too!

And just to clarify, skin-to-skin contact means just that! It means that baby is stripped down to a nappy and passed to you to lie straight onto your chest with a towel or blanket covering both of you. No need for any clothing. The Golden Hour encompasses this contact and, unless there is a medical need, mum and baby should be left undisturbed. Allowing you both to pause, connect and simply be together.

Why is it so important?

It may sound simple but this first hour lays important foundations for bonding, feeding, emotional wellbeing, and recovery. This time of adjustment helps your baby adapt to life outside the womb whilst you can begin to recover after labour and also adjust into your new role as a parent. Skin-to-skin contact helps babies to regulate their heart rate and temperature as well as their breathing rate. In turn, this helps to stabilise their blood sugar and regulates their stress hormones also. The golden hour helps to produce oxytocin too and this hormone is incredible! Oxytocin helps to support bonding, attachment and feeding once you meet your little one.

A word on breastfeeding.

Skin-to-skin contact matters for all mums and babies. Regardless on how you are planning on feeding your baby. It helps everyone to adjust, connect and bond. But if you have decided to breastfeed then we would absolutely recommend skin-to-skin contact for an extended period if possible. Holding your baby close after delivery helps to switch on all the milk making cells for breastfeeding. A recent cochrane review, which brought together 69 trials and over 7,000 mother-baby pairs showed that those who had an hour of skin to skin after birth were more likely to breastfeed for the first six month's of baby's life. There are lots of studies that identify skin-to-skin contact as something that can really help to promote and sustain your breastfeeding journey.

How can I make sure that I get uninterrupted skin to skin?

Generally speaking, most midwives and obstetricians are aware of the benefits of the golden hour. We are aware that the first hour should be a time of quiet calm. Sometimes medical care genuinely needs to take priority, and not every family gets the uninterrupted first hour they hoped for. That does not mean bonding is lost or harmed. Skin-to-skin contact remains beneficial whenever it happens. Midwives are super keen to facilitate the golden hour but it might be worth making an extra note on your birth preferences. You might want to ask if the initial checks and weights can wait until after the first feed and make sure you have your partner on board too. They can limit interruptions and visitors in the birth space and do skin-to-skin also.

What about after the first hour?

I love talking about the benefits of the golden hour but in my opinion, we should be talking about skin-to-skin for a much longer period than just that first hour. An increased awareness of the 'power hour' is a great thing but the message doesn't seem to be filtering through that skin-to-skin contact is an awesome tool for the first days and weeks with a newborn. I sometimes meet mums at home who feel really anxious because they didn't get that initial golden hour for whatever reason. Skin-to-skin is incredible but it can happen at any point in the newborn period. If I come and visit families at home in the first few days, I always recommend going back to skin-to-skin. It helps with milk production, it helps to soothe babies and settles them when they are overstimulated and cranky. If in doubt, strip your little one off and settle somewhere comfy with them directly on your chest. It really can make a big difference. Remember, your relationship with your baby is built over time so no matter what that first hour looked like after their birth, continuing skin-to-skin contact in the early days and weeks is so important for baby and you.

If you want to learn a little more about birth and parenthood, we would love to meet you on one of our antenatal weekends. Our classes are really inclusive; all ways of birthing, feeding and parenting welcomed! Why not get in touch?

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hello@growandgather.co.uk

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