Neonatal bonding: what it is and how to promote it
Every mother would like to establish a special relationship with her baby, especially from birth. Today we will see how this bond is created and the techniques to encourage it. It is a very powerful connection and it does not necessarily happen that it is established only with the mother, in fact it can also happen with the father. With small children, time passes quickly; Find out in the video the next evolutionary stages of your child, watch the video!
Neonatal bonding: what is it?
In obstetrics wards the concept of neonatal bonding is increasingly widespread: there are many who immediately after giving birth put into practice techniques to favor it, with mum and dad.
But what is it and why is it considered so important that it is encouraged from the very first moments of the little one's life?
The bonding between mother and baby is not a new phenomenon because it is part of our primordial heritage. However, the term was coined in the early 1980s in the United States to refer to the so-called "attachment theories" which actually existed since the 1950s.
The concept of neonatal bonding identifies that fundamental process without which the human being cannot survive.
'To bond"in English it literally means to attach, bind or tie, therefore the term bonding summarizes a deep and ancestral bond, permanent, and which allows the mother to breastfeed her baby, or her father to cradle him, to keep him safe and not to abandon him .
It is said that neonatal bonding allows for the use of hidden instincts and causes a kind of specific communication between parent and baby; in particular in the case of a mother and a child, it allows the first to respond effectively to the needs of their newborn puppy.
Like all human processes, however, one must not think of something that happens automatically and in the same way for everyone: depending on the environment, one's characteristics and the state of health of the mother and baby, bonding starts or not and according to specific times. of the people involved.
How bonding is born
Beyond all the variables involved and the complexities that may emerge from the individual case, one point remains firm: given its vital importance, it should be cultivated from the very first moments of the newborn's breath. Because once this emotional bond made of caresses, looks and infinite attention is established, it remains for life.
We would like to reiterate that although it is a completely natural process that activates some of our maternal / paternal instincts, it does not necessarily happen in an instant.
Often and willingly it is not a spark that fires in a moment that we will remember for all our life (in the common imagination it is thought that in the mother this relationship is triggered as soon as she sees the newborn baby), but a slow growth. There are cases in which bonding neonatal is instantaneous, but not always: creating such a powerful bond takes time and depending on the situation it can begin already before birth, in the period of pregnancy, up to the first hours together, or start days after the baby's arrival and last all the first weeks.
No worries so if you have recently given birth and have not felt that spark that everyone talks about springing up in you: your time is unique and specific, and a lot depends on how your labor went. It is no coincidence that many traumatic births, perhaps for medical reasons, delay the attachment between mother and child by a little.
The 6 ways to foster the child's attachment to the parent
Is it possible to encourage the establishment of this natural process? Studies reveal that yes, it can be done, and there are tested methodologies that can favor it, while some variables that can influence it, even negatively. Let's see the 6 most effective ways to favor it. "neonatal attachment to the parent.
1. Skin-to-skin contact
It is the most natural and customs-cleared method in hospital obstetrics wards (skin-to-skin practice). It simply consists of making sure that the baby's skin and body are in contact with the mother's skin immediately after birth, always if the state of health of both allows it.
Once the child has spent some time with the mother (2 hours is the recommended time), the same operation can be performed with the father. This methodology gives many benefits to the newborn: it allows to stabilize his body temperature and regularize the heart rate, thanks to the feeling of serenity that comes from contact with his mother.
In particular, in the first 60-90 minutes post partum the baby is in a state of quiet wakefulness; try to understand where it is! He looks around, opens his eyes, tries to recognize the scent of his mother, looks and listens to his parents and independently searches for the breast to feed himself. It is a beautiful phase because the baby is extremely attentive to what surrounds him and is the his first and only contact with the world.After two hours after giving birth, the newborn goes into a state of drowsiness: he must recover the perhaps of having come into the world!
He is normally taken to the nest away from his mother, but bonding has already begun.
See also: All the stars who gave birth at home!
The first hours of life together are truly magical and must be respected by the dining room staff; they are in fact the first minutes in which a new family is created, physically and above all emotionally.
It has been shown that the only need for healthy babies in the first minutes after birth is to be dried and wrapped in a warm towel; everything else can wait, indeed it is an obstacle to bonding with his parents. In addition, thanks to this attachment, the little one stops crying a few seconds after birth and calms down much faster, while newborns separated from their mother immediately after birth cry longer and calm down with difficulty.
And in cases where childbirth did not allow skin to skin? It will be necessary to recover as soon as possible, establishing physical contact between mother and baby by wrapping the baby around a blanket and putting it in close contact with the mother's bare skin.
The first two hours after birth are also defined as "sensitive period" and are characterized by a series of events that are also triggered at the hormonal level: immediately after birth, the mother produces a high-level hormone in the blood, "oxytocin, which helps to establish emotional bonds and stimulate care. In addition to endorphins and prolactin. In turn, the newborn has high levels of adrenaline, making it particularly sensitive to stimuli.
2. Always respond to the baby's cry
Building an intimate relationship through bonding also requires the mother's ability to respond promptly to the baby's needs. The baby will immediately understand that his actions have an impact on others and will try to communicate through the only path he knows, crying.
A newborn cries from hunger, from cold, from malaise ... in short, for everything! And for some time he will express himself only with this means; this is why it is advisable to console him according to what he tries to tell us, whether it is desire to cuddle or need to breastfeed. used to being carried away, even just by your breath, and it will be very easy for you to remember it once you come into the world.
3. Eye contact even in breastfeeding
Looking your puppy in the eye is a moment full of tenderness and you immediately understand that there is a unique bond between the mother and her baby. Eye contact is important in the first two hours of attachment but it is a practice to carry on even during breastfeeding and in all those situations in which it will be possible. On the chest after birth, the baby will have his eyes wide open, but he will. also in other moments of the puerperium: on the changing table, while feeding it (at the breast or bottle) or in the spaces dedicated to play.
4. Baby-wearing
Of all the options listed to incentivize bonding, it is perhaps the one most used by dads. Fathers need to be absolutely involved in this process and are happy to experiment with swaddling and baby carriers (if the baby likes it). Carrying the little ones with the aid of a sling, a mei-tai or a baby carrier is a useful trick to be able to move with your hands free but it is also a way to maintain constant physical contact and this ensures that the newborns they relax and feel contained in the warm embrace of mum or dad. The therapy pouch is also a very valuable recovery tool for premature babies.
5. Green light to pampering!
As a new mom, you will soon learn to be the subject of unsolicited criticism and judgment. Among these is the tendency on the part of relatives and friends to be judged for cuddling the newborn baby too much. It is not a vice to hold a baby in your arms, on the contrary interacting with him from a physical point of view is comfort and the ability to respond optimally to his needs.
It is a way for the baby to learn to trust the person who brought him into the world and this strengthens the bonding as much as it sets the stage for a lasting relationship.
