Golden hour
What is the golden hour and why is it so important?
The golden hour is the first hour after birth.
Ideally, baby would be put skin to skin with mom immediately upon delivery and stay there for an uninterrupted hour of skin to skin.
Research has found this hour of skin to skin has many benefits, including:
decreased rates of postpartum hemorrhage
better temperature regulation for baby
less need for supplementation for baby
better breastfeeding rates and outcomes
“The Golden Hour encompasses a set of evidence-based practices that contribute to the physiologic stabilization of the mother-newborn dyad after birth. Important elements of the Golden Hour include delayed cord clamping, skin-to-skin contact for at least an hour, the performance of newborn assessments on the maternal abdomen, delaying non-urgent tasks (e.g., bathing the newborn) for 60 minutes, and the early initiation of breastfeeding. The Golden Hour contributes to neonatal thermoregulation, decreased stress levels in a woman and her newborn, and improved mother-newborn bonding. Implementation of these actions is further associated with increased rates and duration of breastfeeding.”
It is important to realize the impact the golden hour can have on mom and baby, while also understanding that this will not always be medically possible.
The safety of mom and baby will always be put first, and may eliminate the possibility of this hour of skin to skin. However, if both baby and mom are medically stable, there should be no reason to interrupt that hour of skin to skin!
Here’s what you can do:
make it clear to the medical team that you would like your birthing experience to include the golden hour
make a plan for what you want to happen if this is not possible! (ex: baby comes right back to you when you are both stable, visiting baby in the NICU as soon as possible to initiate skin to skin, etc.)
What you can do if this golden hour is interrupted:
begin skin to skin as soon as you and/or baby are stable
initiate pumping or hand expressing within 2 hours of birth if you are separated from your baby and are unable to breastfeed
Sources:
Neczypor JL, Holley SL. Providing Evidence-Based Care During the Golden Hour. Nurs Womens Health. 2017 Dec;21(6):462-472. doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2017.10.011. PMID: 29223210.
