Bonding with your baby

The first opportunity to make a bond with your baby is the time when you baby is born. A tradition of separation of the mother and baby after birth still persists in many parts of the world. Skin-to-skin contact for 25 to 120 minutes after birth and early suckling positively influence mother-infant interaction when compared with routines involving separation of mother and infant.

Mostly all babies are awake and alert during the first few hours after birth. They are attracted to human sights especially faces and human sounds.

It is proposed that in the early neonatal period there are moments of meeting between parent and infant, such as mutual gaze, in which parents realize that their baby is a true interlocutor with meaningful behaviour who is ready to engage in interactions. These events significantly strengthen the attachment and are foundational for the beginning of intersubjectivity.It is desirable to keep the normal term baby with their mothers rather than in separate nursery. In medical terminology it is called rooming in with mother. Rooming in promotes better emotional support between the mother and the baby.The mother can participate in nursing care of baby and it helps in early initiation of breast feeding.In fact if babies are lowbirth weight or premature, skin to skin contact with the mother or father (like a kangaroo) helps enhanced survival , better weight gain and reduced hospital stay.