A Victoria University of Wellington study is exploring the role the internet and social media play in the ‘golden hour’ after birth.
The first 60 minutes of a baby’s life are believed to provide important physical and emotional benefits.
These include major physiological changes to circulation in newborns, as well as in their neurological responses through exposure to light, sound, touch, cold, and gravity. Women also experience significant neuro-hormonal changes at birth that aid the attachment between mother and baby.
The multidisciplinary study, believed to be a world first, involves Dr Jayne Krisjanous from the School of Marketing and International Business, Dr Robyn Maude from the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, and PhD student Marlini Bakri.
Jayne says the immediate wave of feedback to online announcements can disturb the bonding process, as it requires some attention and responding to.
While we live in an increasingly social-media-saturated world, says Robyn, paying attention to the baby in those intimate moments after birth is vital.
“It’s a time to explore each other, and allow the baby to ease into the newness of being outside the womb.”