When your baby has been born
Supporting your baby when they have been born
Feeding the baby following birth
It is your choice whether to breast, formula or mixed feed.
Whilst there are lots of health benefits to breast feeding, for some families this is not the right choice, or not possible.
There are three options for feeding your baby. These are breastfeeding, formula and a mix of both (combi feeding).
You will be encouraged to start to feed within an hour of birth where possible. Your midwives and doctors will support whichever decision you make regarding the type of milk you choose for your baby.
We recommend breastfeeding where possible as breast feeding has additional health benefits. If you choose to breastfeed and you would like help, you can get support on how to breastfeed and there are even medications available which can help.
There are lots of factors which can impact how viable breastfeeding is for you and your baby. It is not right for everyone, but if you choose to, those benefits are there no matter how short you breast feed for. If you would like to use formula milk, you can use the first infant formula for the whole first year of your baby’s life. To prepare feeds safely you can sterilise their bottles.
Skin-to-skin
Skin-to-skin is where your baby is placed directly onto your skin or your birth partners bare skin after birth. It has lots of benefits for mum and baby and is encouraged as soon as possible after birth.
Skin-to-skin has been shown to promote the starting of breast feeding. It can help with bonding with you and your baby and can even impact baby and mum’s wellbeing following birth.
Skin-to-skin might not be possible for lots of reasons or may not be possible immediately. This may be because you may not be well enough and baby may not be in the best condition and may need some extra care. As soon as skin-to-skin is possible, you are more than welcome to take that opportunity.
Skin-to-skin can also be done with your birthing partner if you are not well enough and are happy with that. This also has benefits for your birthing partner and helps with bonding with your baby.
If your baby needs extra support
If your baby comes out and needs some help breathing, or their heart rate is not at a normal level, they may need some additional support. If this happens, the team of midwifes (and paediatric doctors if you are in a hospital) will step in to help immediately. There may be lots of people coming into the room to help. This will mean you will not get to have skin-to-skin straight away as your baby needs to be taken to the right place to be resuscitated. For most babies, all that will be required is some encouragement to breathe.
However, for others more support is required, and in some cases, we need to help babies’ hearts to beat. Around 7 in 100 babies will need some extra help to breathe after birth.
If this happens, we understand that this can be worrying but your baby will only be away from you as long as it takes to stabilise them. Usually, they will be back with you very quickly, but sometimes it is necessary for them to be transferred to the neonatal unit for further care and more tests.
If we suspect that your baby may be born needing support, we may ask to take a blood test from the umbilical cord after you have given birth to the baby and the placenta.
When your baby is born, your midwife will do immediate observations on your baby (called an APGAR) to decide if it is necessary to resuscitate them or call for help. It may be necessary to do other tests for example check oxygen levels.
All babies will have an early examination to make sure there are no obvious problems, and to check things such as their head size, weight and temperature checked.
Feeding your baby references:
Intrapartum care. NICE guidelines Published September 29, 2023. Accessed October 18, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng235/chapter/Recommendations#planning-place-of-birth
Postnatal care - Formula feeding information and support. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng194/evidence/t-formula-feeding-information-and-support-pdf-326764486011#:~:text=Breastfeeding%20is%20known%20to%20have,breast%20cancer%20in%20the%20mothers
Postnatal care of the baby | Guidance | NICE. Published April 20, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng194/chapter/Recommendations#postnatal-care-of-the-baby
Skin-to-skin references:
Intrapartum care. NICE guidelines Published September 29, 2023. Accessed October 18, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng235/chapter/Recommendations#planning-place-of-birth
Quality statement 7: Skin-to-skin contact | Intrapartum care | Quality standards | NICE. Published December 10, 2015. Accessed October 20, 2023.
Chapman V, Charles C. The Midwife's Labour and Birth Handbook. Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated; 2013.
If your baby needs support references:
Intrapartum care. NICE guidelines Published September 29, 2023. Accessed October 18, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng235/chapter/Recommendations#planning-place-of-birth
Birthplace in England research programme | sheer | NPEU. Accessed October 18, 2023. https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace
Fetal monitoring in labour. NICE guidelines. Published December 14, 2022. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng229
Quality statement 7: Skin-to-skin contact | Intrapartum care | Quality standards | NICE. Published December 10, 2015. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs105/chapter/quality-statement-7-skin-to-skin-contact
Postnatal care of the baby | Guidance | NICE. Published April 20, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2023. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng194/chapter/Recommendations#postnatal-care-of-the-baby
Lee AC, Cousens S, Wall SN, et al. Neonatal resuscitation and immediate newborn assessment and stimulation for the prevention of neonatal deaths: a systematic review, meta-analysis and Delphi estimation of mortality effect. BMC Public Health. 2011;11(3):S12. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-S3-S12
