Adorable Photo Shows Benefits of Skin-to-skin Contact for Newborns
This adorable photo shared by a Danish organization is going viral, receiving praise for demonstrating the benefits of skin-to-skin contact for newborn babies.
The photo was originally shared on Facebook last year by the family advocacy group Forældre og Fødsel. This week, its caption was translated into English and the photo shared again by NINO Birth group in South Africa.
The caption explains the story behind the photo, which depicts a dad and his son (a new big brother!) practicing skin-to-skin contact with their small newborn twins.
It reads:
‘Skin to Skin Contact is not “new”, but Sweden certainly leads the way in making this care family -friendly even for very tiny babies.
I love this picture of big brother helping his dad care for the twins!!
“Revolutionary and innovative practices in Uppsala, Sweden. Children of 700 grams can be skin to skin on the parent’s chest instead of the incubator.
A Swedish Professor Uwe Ewald, came to Hvidovre hospital (Denmark) to talk about his revolutionary practice, where even very small premature babies are taken out of the incubator to be skin to skin with their parents as much as possible. Premature babies, born three months prematurely, are put on the parent’s chest instead of alone in an incubator.
Uwe Ewald points out that the parent’s chest regulates the temperature better than an incubator. Skin to skin contact helps the baby to breathe better. The child becomes more calm and gains weight faster. Research shows that parents bacterial flora - compared with hospital bacteria - reduces the risk of serious infections in these delicate children.
100 doctors, nurses and other staff from all over Denmark gather at Hvidovre hospital Friday the 29.5. to hear Uwe Ewald research.
The initiator of the meeting is the Fund “A good start in life” in cooperation with the Neonatal Department at Hvidovre Hospital.
Hvidovre Hospital’s neonatal department also has positive experience with skin-to-skin contact and currently has a major research project.” ‘
The photo has been shared more than 23,000 times, mainly by other new parents hoping to spread the word about the benefits of holding newborns skin-to-skin.