Encore Skin-to-Skin Contact: Neuroscience or NurtureScience of Birth?

After birth became medicalized, skin-to-skin care was assumed to be optional, irrelevant, or unimportant. But in truth, the skin-to-skin contact between the newborn, the mother and—yes, the father—is a critical component of the transition to extrauterine life for the baby, and the transformation of individuals into family units. Join Marie and her special guest, Nils Bergman, MB ChB, MPH, MD, as they discuss the “NurtureScience” to support the initiation and continuation of prolonged skin-to-skin contact. How and why does this critical period have a profound and life-long impact on the newborn? How long should skin-to-skin contact (aka kangaroo mother care) last? How do birth practices, especially skin-to-skin (or lack thereof) affect hormones, sensory stimuli, the limbic brain, and emotions? What is the effect of labor inductions? Whether you are the parent, the healthcare professional, or the “kangaroula”, you can create a transformational experience for the new family.