The best place for your baby

For around nine months, your baby lived in a warm, peaceful and safe environment. They know your voice, the sound of your heartbeat and your smell. After birth, there is a very simple way to help them through this big transition: placing them directly on your chest, in skin-to-skin contact.

This simple action helps your baby adapt to life outside the womb, allowing them to maintain a more stable body temperature, better regulate their breathing and heart rate, stabilise their blood sugar levels, cry less and feel more secure. It also makes starting breastfeeding easier, as many babies, when undisturbed, can initiate their first feed on their own.

You also benefit from this contact. Skin-to-skin stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps the uterus contract, helps deliver the placenta, reduces the risk of bleeding after birth and encourages the start of milk production. At the same time, it promotes a greater sense of calm and well-being, and strengthens the bond between you and your baby.