The Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) has called on health practitioners to ensure that newborn babies are placed on their mothers' bare skin at least an hour after delivery.

According to Dr Isaac Koranteng, such practice is highly beneficial to the mothers but more importantly, to the babies.

“Immediately after birth, whether through Caesarean section or vaginal delivery, placing the baby directly onto the mother’s bare skin within the first one hour to two hours has a lot of advantages and benefits for the baby,” he said.

“We [doctors] think that it’s something very beneficial to all women all over the world, but we are not doing."

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews’ Mamavi Owusu Aboagye, during her visit to the facility, he noted that the practice does not cost money or anything extra, except the knowledge and the determination to get it done.

Providing more education on the practice, Dr Koranteng said some of the advantages, aside from establishing a bond between the mother and the baby, are mind-blowing.

“It helps to regulate the baby’s breathing, it helps to regulate the baby’s heart rate. It helps the brain to develop and it helps the physical development of the baby.

“Then the most mind-blowing aspect of the whole thing is that, it helps to regulate the baby’s sugar [level and] helps to initiate breastfeeding,” he said.

He noted that there is a need to create awareness of the practice because “with all these benefits and more, we are still not doing it.”

Dr Koranteng, therefore, encouraged every hospital to adopt the practice, except in a situation where the baby will need resuscitation.

“Please when you deliver, every hospital, try and place the baby directly on the mother’s bare skin, except in a situation where the baby will need resuscitation and I believe if we do that, we will help our babies,” he said.