We sense the world as threatening or pleasant through our skin. Sensations such as warmth, heat, cold, intense or dim light, gentle or aggressive touch can both stimulate and inhibit our autonomic nervous system and oxytocinergic system. When the baby is in skin-to-skin contact with his mother, he moves his little hands to "massage" his mother's chest, thus generating oxytocin pulses (Uvnas-Moberg 2003). The moderate pressure contact exerted by the baby's body on the mother's body generates a tactile stimulus that triggers a strong associated vagal response of calm and wellness.
More and more research is being added in relation to the power of touch in the release of oxytocin and the stimulation of the vagal system. This presentation will look at how touch, the mother of senses, provides mother and baby the input to the oxytocinergic system playing an integral role in the biological-behavioral regulation of lactation. As care providers, learning how to nuture these encouters between parent and baby and teach about why it is so important will help to improve breastfeeding duration and create families attentive to the needs of their children.
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the importance of skin to skin contact in relation to breastfeeding.
2. Describe the relation between skin to skin contact, the autonomic nervous system and the release of oxytocin.
3. List 3 strategies to offer families to improve closeness when due to various circumstances mom and baby must remain separated.
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