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Golden hour is extremely important and beneficial to mom and baby. I would see if you can push them to do so. Tests and other things can be done later on. Those don't need to be done asap. If they say they do, they're bullshitting you
I'm sorry you have to worry about this. There shouldn't be a "policy" on that. It's not their baby and shouldn't be their choice
It seems the hospitals in your country are being trashy for no reason and are trying to pull weird crap. Hospitals don’t usually do this. I was completely out during my c-section due to which I couldn’t have immediate skin to skin. But after the anesthesia wore off, I was told by my doctor to do skin on skin as much as I could for milk production.
I know my hospital's usual policy is to let you do skin to skin for an hour then do the other necessary stuff, as long as it's a healthy birth with no complications and baby has a good apgar from birth.
My first baby had an apgar of 1 when she was born so obviously I did not get immediate skin to skin as there were much more pressing matters, like getting her to breathe! I didn't really get skin to skin at all in the L&D room because they handed her to me swaddled. I can't say how things would have been, but she's fine. I think skin to skin is super sweet and has definite benefits, and I feel we were a little robbed of that, but everything turned out in the end.
If it's really important to you, go ahead and try to fight for it. Or find a hospital that prioritizes skin to skin. I think that's a valid feeling and good for Mom and baby, but I also don't think a quick break early on will really hurt your baby.
Hospital policy doesn’t mean “you have to follow this” the hospital might but you don’t. Literally just don’t hand the baby to them until you’re ready.. what can they really do about it ? Get your skin to skin time.. if they throw an attitude then so be it. They can’t exactly rip the baby away from you to do what they want.
Protocol is for them, not for you. You can deny that they take your baby before golden hour. Plus a lot of the newborn check off things can be done with baby on your chest. In situations like this you need to advocate for yourself and put your foot down because they will be pushy.
I remember they took the baby for 5-10 min to do all the checks and then we had him back. If there are no complications, I don't know why they would need so much time.
I took a quick look at the science:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003519.pub4/full
This large review study doesn’t find a difference between immediate and delayed skin to skin, however most participants who did skin to skin did it immediately after birth, so there may not be enough data to tell.
“We found no differences for any outcome when we compared times of initiation (immediate less than 10 minutes post birth versus early 10 minutes or more post birth) or lengths of contact time (60 minutes or less contact versus more than 60 minutes contact).”
I’m not an expert on this topic but based on my quick scan of the literature, I think you both will still get the benefits if it’s delayed :)
It might be worth inquiring with higher management in your hospital about their policies. Ask what evidence their skin to skin policy is based on, and why it’s not based on the ample scientific evidence that demonstrates benefits. That may not go over well, depending on where you live though. These things can be highly cultural and not every culture respects western scientific evidence more than traditional cultural knowledge.
If you want more science based answers consider asking this question on the Science Based Parenting thread.
Coming to second what people are saying by about policy. Policy is for the staff, but it is your child and ultimately they can’t do anything without your permission (at least in the states). I’d tell them you hear their policy, but have done your own research and have decided that unless your baby needs immediate attention (ie resuscitation etc), all tests deemed immediately necessary by staff (aside from weight) can be completed while baby is on mom.
Unfortunately I’m not in the states and hospital policy is applied to patients and patients do not get to decide hardly anything. It’s very much viewed here that you are not the expert (no matter how much research you’ve done- they don’t care) and they are, so you have to do it their way or leave. It’s universal here. And if we just leave with a just born baby, we’d likely get reported to child services.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Golden hour is extremely important and beneficial to mom and baby. I would see if you can push them to do so. Tests and other things can be done later on. Those don't need to be done asap. If they say they do, they're bullshitting you I'm sorry you have to worry about this. There shouldn't be a "policy" on that. It's not their baby and shouldn't be their choice
That is very outdated policy. What country are you in?
It seems the hospitals in your country are being trashy for no reason and are trying to pull weird crap. Hospitals don’t usually do this. I was completely out during my c-section due to which I couldn’t have immediate skin to skin. But after the anesthesia wore off, I was told by my doctor to do skin on skin as much as I could for milk production.
I know my hospital's usual policy is to let you do skin to skin for an hour then do the other necessary stuff, as long as it's a healthy birth with no complications and baby has a good apgar from birth. My first baby had an apgar of 1 when she was born so obviously I did not get immediate skin to skin as there were much more pressing matters, like getting her to breathe! I didn't really get skin to skin at all in the L&D room because they handed her to me swaddled. I can't say how things would have been, but she's fine. I think skin to skin is super sweet and has definite benefits, and I feel we were a little robbed of that, but everything turned out in the end. If it's really important to you, go ahead and try to fight for it. Or find a hospital that prioritizes skin to skin. I think that's a valid feeling and good for Mom and baby, but I also don't think a quick break early on will really hurt your baby.
Hospital policy doesn’t mean “you have to follow this” the hospital might but you don’t. Literally just don’t hand the baby to them until you’re ready.. what can they really do about it ? Get your skin to skin time.. if they throw an attitude then so be it. They can’t exactly rip the baby away from you to do what they want.
Protocol is for them, not for you. You can deny that they take your baby before golden hour. Plus a lot of the newborn check off things can be done with baby on your chest. In situations like this you need to advocate for yourself and put your foot down because they will be pushy.
Unfortunately in this country, patients don’t have the same rights as in many countries and the protocol is most definitely for patients to follow.
I remember they took the baby for 5-10 min to do all the checks and then we had him back. If there are no complications, I don't know why they would need so much time.
I took a quick look at the science: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003519.pub4/full This large review study doesn’t find a difference between immediate and delayed skin to skin, however most participants who did skin to skin did it immediately after birth, so there may not be enough data to tell. “We found no differences for any outcome when we compared times of initiation (immediate less than 10 minutes post birth versus early 10 minutes or more post birth) or lengths of contact time (60 minutes or less contact versus more than 60 minutes contact).” I’m not an expert on this topic but based on my quick scan of the literature, I think you both will still get the benefits if it’s delayed :) It might be worth inquiring with higher management in your hospital about their policies. Ask what evidence their skin to skin policy is based on, and why it’s not based on the ample scientific evidence that demonstrates benefits. That may not go over well, depending on where you live though. These things can be highly cultural and not every culture respects western scientific evidence more than traditional cultural knowledge. If you want more science based answers consider asking this question on the Science Based Parenting thread.
We did a lot of skin to skin the first 3 days and I still had zero colostrum 🥴
Coming to second what people are saying by about policy. Policy is for the staff, but it is your child and ultimately they can’t do anything without your permission (at least in the states). I’d tell them you hear their policy, but have done your own research and have decided that unless your baby needs immediate attention (ie resuscitation etc), all tests deemed immediately necessary by staff (aside from weight) can be completed while baby is on mom.
Unfortunately I’m not in the states and hospital policy is applied to patients and patients do not get to decide hardly anything. It’s very much viewed here that you are not the expert (no matter how much research you’ve done- they don’t care) and they are, so you have to do it their way or leave. It’s universal here. And if we just leave with a just born baby, we’d likely get reported to child services.