The first hour after your baby is born is the perfect time to begin bonding. Skin-to-skin contact helps your baby stay warm, relax, transition, and breathe easier. This quiet time together lets you get to know your baby and promotes breastfeeding.
What to Expect During the Sacred Hour
In a typical vaginal delivery, the Sacred Hour will begin directly after birth. Your chest will be bare and baby will be placed on your tummy, naked and not wrapped. You and your baby will be covered with a blanket with baby's head out. If there is a medical reason that keeps you from immediate skin to skin, it may be started as soon as possible.
In a planned or non-emergent cesarean section you will be offered the option of having the skin to skin and bonding experience in the operating room. After a brief assessment, if both you and the baby are doing well, the baby will be placed on your chest with the assistance of a nurse. As your cesarean section concludes, your baby will be taken to the nursery but will rejoin you as soon as possible.
In both scenarios, we routinely perform delayed cord clamping for at least one minute.
Family Participation
The first hour after birth is a special time when the new baby and parents become a family. You can honor and support this by:
- Leaving mother and baby skin-to-skin (uninterrupted) until after the first breastfeeding
- Keep the room quiet and calm so baby can hear mostly the parent's voices
- Enjoy watching baby's amazing, natural, and instinctive feeding behaviors
Breastfeeding provides healthy nutrients your baby needs and prevents infection. We support our new mothers in exclusive breastfeeding, from before baby is born, after birth and at home.
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends breastfeeding for at least 6 months because of the many health benefits it provides, including:
- Nutrients more easily used by baby
- Nutrients needed for optimum brain and nervous system growth
- Eyes that work better, thanks to the fats in breastmilk
- Fewer digestive lung and ear infections
- Lower risks for many conditions, including SIDS, asthma and allergies
- Less diarrhea
- Enhanced mom and baby bonding
We support the World Health Organization 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding to support you and your baby. If breastfeeding is not right for you due to medical, religious, or other reasons, our staff is here to support you through the process as well.
