We know that One of the fundamentals for a happy breastfeeding is the early contact between the mother and the baby, skin to skin, to promote suction, even in the immediate postpartum, even with the umbilical cord uncut. It is also about making the environment as cozy as possible for the baby, and maintaining the physiological bond that has united them for nine months in the womb.
And although these practices are far from widespread in most hospital settings, they are still less frequent, if not nonexistent, in the case of caesarean sections. This implies, given the high number of caesarean births that occur in our environment in recent decades, that the duration and rate of breastfeeding are negatively affected.
But, although the circumstances and the environment in which a birth takes place can vary considerably, the breastfeeding process and the needs of the newborn remain constant, so it should be facilitate whenever possible skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby.
There are many benefits of this early skin-to-skin contact and thankfully it is becoming increasingly clear that it is important not separation between mother and baby in these moments, with some proven immediate and long-term benefits.
Less intervened, more human births
For everything, the ideal would be to minimize interventions during birth (hence we frequently highlight the dangers of scheduled, unnecessary caesarean sections) and ensure care that promotes the best establishment of the mother-child affective bond, facilitating and encouraging intimate contact between both, promoting early and frequent breastfeeding and offering adequate and consistent support.
These “humanized” care practices should support the establishment of skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding, also in mothers with cesarean delivery, as long as his condition allows it. To do this, hospital protocols should review the recovery times and conditions of mothers who go through this intervention.
And it is that the passage through the "recovery room" could be shortened, provided there are no problems and the mother is well, even if she asks that the baby be put to the breast (and this is also in good condition) I do not see inconvenient if so.
The professionals responsible for providing this care should also promote and support breastfeeding in women undergoing a cesarean section, where the reinforcement should be even greater. Women who stop by caesarean section and have decided to breastfeed have to be respected and reinforced with more professional support since breastfeeding could indeed be more difficult and the recovery of women longer and harder.
At the end of the day, what is intended is an attention to childbirth, based on scientific evidence, attentive to the needs of the parturient and the newborn, respectful of the physiology of childbirth and birth, defender of the least possible intervention and of Personalization of attention.
All this will mark the road to happy breastfeeding and parenting, in the best conditions, also after having a cesarean delivery. This does not mean that they should reduce the rates of these interventions, adapting the practices recommended by national and international authorities.
