HELP I'm worried about how I'll manage to get 3 hours of skin to skin time

[L3tsD0Th1S2020]

The hospital's policy is to move me into the postnatal ward 1.5 hours after giving birth. After an hour they expect you to take a shower etc and essentially get ready to move. Theyll weigh the baby etc.

After doing my hypnobirthing course which I loved by the way and a course on breast feeding theyve both said to protect this precious skin to skin time as itll help your milk to come in.

How do i achieve this?

I've mentioned it in my birth plan but will hospital policy make it impossible for me to secure this time for me and baby?

Did you manage it or find a workaround?

I didn’t do skin to skin or bf but had no impact onto DH and I bonding with DC’s.

Elective sections here, but I had about an hour of skin to skin before weighing, and then once in the ward as much as I wanted.

The likelihood is tbh, that you'll need some postnatal care, either in terms of stitching, or surgery, and that'll probably affect the amount of initial skin to skin contact you have.

Also, the getting you up and showering within a couple of hours probably assumes giving birth at a sociable hour, and having zero complications, which is pretty unlikely. And you can always say no, if they are pushing... I'd see what happens, and just take whatever time you can tbh.

I had zero skin to skin with dd2 due to haemorrhaging and ending up in intensive care. I breastfed her successfully.

I had plenty of skin to skin with dd1 and breastfeeding was a nightmare.

Who did you do your courses with btw?
I have never heard of 3 hour
Want to reassure that I am sure all will
Be well op

This isn't a rule set in stone and so many things will be out of your control that you can't get hung up on little things like this.

This with bells on.

Most important thing is to try to breastfeed immediately after birth, I was recommended within 5 mins but obviously this is subject to your babies health
And your own health!! Ds was given to Dh while they worked on me for 5 and something hours.
I still breast fed successfully. Even if I didn't I would not have been a failure!🤷‍♀️
Don't put pressure on yourself.
Be flexible and enjoy your baby.
Honestly don't get hung up on 'rules' most of them are made up and advice will probably change next year anyway!!

Hi OP, echoing some of the other posters here. My LO was rushed to NICU so I didn’t get to hold her for c.15 hours. No one had skin to skin as she needed machines. She was breast fed till she was 9 months. Try not to get to hung up on things you need to happen, as sometimes life intervenes. The guidelines are often just “best case scenario” ideas but even if they all go out the window, you can still make choices as you need to x

You’ll be dying to jump into the shower ASAP, trust me!