| There are many possible reasons that you and your baby may become separated after the birth. Some are common and others much rarer. They divide into those which concern the baby’s health and those concerning the mother’s.
Some babies need to be resuscitated after birth. They simply do not begin to breathe on their own. The reasons may be: side effects of drugs used during the labour; Placental Abruption (where the placenta prematurely separates from the uterine wall during birth); the umbilical cord breaks either fully or partially during birth; the cord has been tightly wrapped around the neck during second stage; or compression of the cord during second stage. The normal procedure for resuscitation is for the infant to be moved quickly to a nearby table where oxygen and drugs are administered. However, if your baby is seriously ill, or the birth has been traumatic, for example requiring use of forceps or a caesarean, then he may be examined by a paediatrician almost immediately after the birth. This may or may not take place in the same room as you.
Separation from your baby straight after birth, either in your presence or away from you, can leave you feeling very abandoned and under-standably worried. The possibility of an ill baby causes extreme anxiety. All your instincts will be craving to hold your baby. You will be in a hyper-sensitive state and your emotions will be especially charged. These days, more women are insisting that in the event of the need for resuscitation or examination, the infant is not moved out of their sight or touch. Most hospitals will try to accommodate this, so you may wish to request – in advance on your Birth Plan and again at the time – that this happens. Your support people can help you in this regard by liaising with medical staff. If you are intending to have extra support people other than your partner, you may want to discuss beforehand, who should stay with you, and who should go with the baby in case of a distant separation.
Sometimes first contact and first breastfeed are delayed due to the mother’s health. Caesarean section under general anaesthesia, fainting, post-partum haemorrhage, or severe shock may cause this. Due to an elevated temperature about 36 hours after his birth, my second baby was taken away for 12 hours of observations. This separation affected us greatly. When reunited, I was nervous, disconnected, and emotionally volatile. He was certainly more unsettled and
| |
unsure of who I was. I felt our first precious bonds had been broken. In such an event, the need for the mutual reconnection through skin to skin contact and extended breastfeeding, in solitude is very important. Secondly, one must resolve any residual anxiety about the separation so that your relationship with your baby is not affected in any deep or long term way. Yoga Nidra is good for this.
Here I will be dealing only with the very first breastfeed. More specific information about the breastfeeding in general is covered in Chapter 6.
Studies have shown that the optimum time to begin breastfeeding is within one hour of birth, as this is when mother and baby are most highly attuned to each other. This first feed is known to reduce post-partum bleeding, enhance bonding, and help to establish successful breastfeeding, both short and long term(28). For an easeful, natural delivery of the placenta breastfeeding is imperative.
The liquid produced by the breasts in the first 48 hours is not in fact milk, but a substance called colostrum. It is thin, clear to yellow in colour, and the breast does not produce much of it in the first few days – just enough to prepare the newborn’s digestive system for the real milk which comes in around the 3rd day after birth. Colostrum is a very important first meal for your baby. It is a vital ingredient for the post-natal well being of the infant in the following ways:
• It is your baby's first immunisation “shot”, rich in antibodies to protect against infection
• It helps to establish intestinal flora which begin the digestive process in his stomach
• It is a mild laxative which stimulates the baby’s bowels to clear out the accumulation of old blood cells which were the by-products of growth in the womb (meconium)
• It provides intestinal flora which then produce Vitamin K, which is an important blood clotting agent needed by new born infants. It is still routine for hospitals to administer a shot of Vitamin K to the baby within 24 hours of birth. This is totally unnecessary for the successfully breastfeeding infant of a healthy mother. It became routine in response to the increased use of formula feeding and nursery management of infants in hospital after birth. You can decline this intervention by stating in on your Birth Plan and by informing any nurses who may attend to you or your baby soon after birth. |
