How to Make the Most Out of the Golden Hour

Kelly Kendall is an IBCLC, nurse, and mom; she began working in lactation after her own breastfeeding challenges. Her practice focuses on prenatal education and online support in her program called “Boob School”. We spoke to Kelly about her expertise in breastfeeding, specifically about making the most out of the Golden Hour.

Kelly Kendall, IBCLC

The Golden Hour is the magical time when babies are placed directly on moms’ bare chest, skin-to-skin, immediately after birth as a way to improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Babies should remain in this position for at least an hour to initiate the breast crawl, the first feeding, and other instinctual and bonding behaviors per recommendation from the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

Skin-to-skin contact and the familiar scent and sound of mom comforts babies after labor as they adjust to their new surroundings. It also improves breastfeeding success while regulating temperature, blood sugar, breathing patterns, and heart rate. Immediate and continued skin-to-skin contact is one of the most effective and simple ways to support better physical, mental, and emotional health outcomes. Moms benefit from skin-to-skin contact as well because it slows postpartum bleeding, increases milk supply, and reduces the likelihood of postpartum depression.

A new mom enjoys the Golden Hour with her newborn baby.

“The golden hour is the first hour after birth. It's an extraordinary time because babies tend to be most awake and interested in breastfeeding and the mother's first milk. Colostrum is also the easiest to express during this timeframe. This combination of an awake baby and easily expressed milk makes this a great time for latching and hand expression of colostrum to lay the foundation of future milk supply,” Kelly said.

Kelly shared with us a few tips for moms to make the most out of this special time with their newborn babies.

“Keeping baby skin-to-skin during this time frame is ideal. Talk to your nurse and doctor about your desire to delay any weights or medications until you have time to work on feeding and bonding. I also encourage all moms to hand-express drops of colostrum during this period of time. Research has shown that moms who hand express during the first hour after birth end up with 60% more milk at 6 weeks!”

A mom and dad gaze at their newborn baby for the first time.

Hand expression, also known as manual expression, is the process of removing milk from the breast with your hand instead of a breast pump. Breastmilk contains fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, sugars, and white blood cells that help to fight infections. It’s the perfect food for your baby. Colostrum, the “liquid gold” that is first produced, contains a higher amount of antibodies that are specifically designed to protect a newborn’s developing immune system. Collect the extra colostrum by hand expression to save for your baby for later. Your labor and delivery nurse, lactation consultant, midwife, or doula can show you the proper way to do this.

Some moms and babies do not get to experience the Golden Hour in cases of a medical emergency. If this is your situation, remember that any moments of bonding, hand-expression, and skin-to-skin are incredibly beneficial for you and your baby.

“If you don't get to have the golden hour with your baby, don't worry! The benefits of skin-to-skin and hand expression continue. Focus on prioritizing uninterrupted skin-to-skin time with your baby before feeding. Skin-to-skin helps to regulate a baby's temperature, blood sugar, and breathing, and helps calm their nervous system.

Skin-to-skin on your chest is the best place on earth for your baby to be from the golden hour and beyond,” Kelly said.

Learn more about breastfeeding and the Golden Hour from Kelly @thebalancedboob.