The Importance of the First Hour

As soon as he’s born, the baby will be placed on your belly or breast for skin-to-skin contact. You will probably be left alone together to get to know each other, as the first hour is a very important time in your baby’s life, when you start the bonding process. Your newborn will instinctively look for his mother’s breast (the burrowing instinct) and if you put your nipple in his mouth, you will find that he will suck instinctively. Putting babies to the breast immediately after birth is not only a good start to the bonding process, but helps stimulate your milk production. What he will be drinking at this stage is colostrums, which is rich in the nutrients and antibodies he needs after birth.

• Early Signs
• Feelings of Heaviness
• Tiredness
• Loss of Mucus Plug
• Contractions
• Pain
• Timing
• Effects of Contractions
• Breaking Waters
• What Happens
• When should you go to hospital?
• In Hospital
• Examinations
• Monitoring
• Medication
• The Epidural
• Should Daddy be there?
• The Birth
• Stage One: Dilation of the Cervix
• Stage Two: Delivery
• Stage Three: Delivery of the Placenta
• Episiotomy
• Foceps and Ventouse
• First Minutes with Your Baby
• He cries!
• The Importance of the First Hour
• Early Care
• How long do you spend in hospital?