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National Child Health Day: Getting Every Child Off to a
Healthy Start
Special to The Truth
October 5 is National
Child Health Day, a federal observance started nearly 90
years ago to encourage Americans to focus on the health and
well-being of children of all ages. That includes helping
expecting mothers plan for a healthy arrival of their
soon-to-be little ones.
If you’re an expectant
mother, you’re likely already making your child’s health a
priority by scheduling regular visits with your
obstetrician, adjusting your diet and limiting certain
activities during your pregnancy. But have you thought about
important considerations for delivery day? For example,
skin-to-skin contact with your newborn immediately after
delivery can help your baby get off to a healthy start.
The International
Breastfeeding Centre lists numerous benefits of skin-to-skin
contact between mother and baby after delivery. These
benefits include a happier baby with a more elevated blood
sugar level, a more stable temperature, heart rate and
breathing rate.
The benefits are not
fleeting, however. Mothers who have skin-to-skin contact
with their babies are more likely to breastfeed in the first
one to four months, and tend to breastfeed longer, according
to a report from the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth
Group, analyzing 34 studies of more than 2,000 mothers and
their babies.
Traditionally,
skin-to-skin time has been limited to natural vaginal
births. In instances where a mother has given birth by
cesarean section, the baby is often sent to an incubator
before a mother can hold or see her baby.
Today, nearly one in three
U.S. women now gives birth via C-section, according to the
CDC. That equals more than one million moms annually who are
denied the benefits of skin-on-skin contact with their
newborn.
Fortunately, many
hospitals now offer a solution in the form of a
“family-centered birth experience.” Also known as a “gentle
cesarean,” a family-centered birth experience includes
certain aspects of a natural childbirth during a C-section
operation, including allowing moms to watch the delivery,
(but not the C-section procedure) as well as hold their
babies immediately after delivery.
Traditionally, C-section
deliveries are blocked off by an opaque screen. New options
such as a family viewing C-section drape allow moms to
witness their babies’ first breath through a see-through
window, while still maintaining an essential surgical
barrier.
If you’re planning to have
a C-section and want to have a family-centered birth
experience, do your research to find a hospital that offers
the service and can deliver it the way you want.
Ensuring skin-on-skin time
with the baby will require additional staff and rearranging
of equipment in the delivery room, as well as altered
placement of the EKG leads on your body. Discuss these
details with your doctor beforehand to ensure the hospital
can make the necessary arrangements.
Opting for a
family-centered birth experience will require some
additional upfront planning during pregnancy, but the bond
created between mother and child will be a lifelong memory
for the family.
Courtesy StatePoint
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