Build a Lasting Bond With Your Baby During the Golden Hour

The early moments of your baby's life can be precious building blocks for their long-term health. With the Golden Hour, we use the 60 minutes after birth to help strengthen the bond between you and your new addition to encourage a happy and healthy transition home. 

Endorsed by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Golden Hour is defined by three key components:

Delayed cord clamping

For nine months, the umbilical cord funneled all the things your baby needed to grow. With delayed cord clamping, that connection goes a little longer. In this step, cord clamping is prolonged until 60 seconds after the baby is born. The extra seconds of connection can provide extra nutrients and stem cells to help with neurodevelopment and prevent anemia.

Skin-to-skin contact

Your baby's first seconds in the world come with a lot of new—sight, sound, smell, and touch. Skin-to-skin contact allows babies and parents to get acquainted with one another's senses and build their biochemical bond. Skin-to-skin contact for babies within the first 10 minutes of birth can help babies breastfeed quicker, regulate their temperature better, and fight infection. For moms, it can help reduce the risk of postpartum depression and help them be more responsive to their baby's cues.

Early breastfeeding initiation

Breastfeeding can take time. That's why it's critical to start the process early so mother and baby can both learn the process together at a good pace. Breastfeeding helps your newborn gain weight at a healthy rate, fend off infection, and breastmilk contains nutrients that can help babies soothe themselves. Plus, it can lower the chances of breast or ovarian cancer and Type 2 diabetes for mothers.

Benefits of the Golden Hour

Our care team is dedicated to helping you and your baby complete all three parts of the Golden Hour. Babies and mothers that bond during the Golden Hour experience:

• Better bonding
• Lower newborn stress levels
• Reduced newborn hypoglycemia
• Improved uterine recovery
• Less postpartum blood loss
• More stable body temperatures

We are here to make the first moments for you and your newborn as healthy and memorable as possible. Ask your care team for more insights about the Golden Hour to see if it's right for you.