I understand skin to skin contact after birth but.....cant get head around this one.

[Sagres]

When you are actually in the moment these kind of details tend to seem less important. After the relief of getting that baby out they could have handed her to me covered in boogers and I wouldn't have cared! But if you think it will cross you squeamish threshold I don't see why a midwife couldn't give him a bit of a wipe down first. I mean skin to skin is obviously very important but I don't think the time it takes for a wipe down is going to make much difference to that!

[CQuin]

I know a woman who was dead against having her baby any where near her till she had been cleaned and wrapped. That child turns 3 very soon, you cant tell the difference between her and any other child who has had skin to skin. She's happy and healthy!

[Babyluv]

It didn't gross me out at all. I have amazing memories of reaching down and grabbing my baby as she was born and holding her straight to my chest. I just wanted to hold her and make sure she was ok. I think when you're in the moment you are so wrapped up in meeting your bub that you don't even think about it. But i'm sure you can ask that bub be wrapped first.

[~Hestia~]

I never really thought about it when I was pregnant. I delivered Moo standing up, the midwives helped me 'catch' him & then I lifted him up to my chest myself. I remember him being VERY slippery but I can't tell you much else

Perhaps see how you feel on the big day. It all happens so fast!

[kristi14]

Most of the time baby gets put on a towel on top of you (well 6 of my 7 did). Its really only if you are naked that you will get gunky if you go for immediate skin to skin. If you dont want to have baby handed to you with all the birth gunk all over them, express this to your mw when you go in to have your baby. You will be surprised at how much changes when you are in the moment though. When we arent in the situation, just thinking about it we think ewwwwwwwww, at the time theres so much going on you will probably find alot of stuff that the thought of it bothers you now, wont bother you then. In fact you probably wont even notice it, when you are in labour, giving birth and just after delivery.

[Eenee]

Oh, they're all lovely and squishy and gooey. It's wonderful!

Yeah I agree best feeling ever! I loved it!

[blue_hebe]

I hadn't really thought too much about it before my DS was born, but as it happened, due to the type of labour I had, he was taken away for a moment and checked over first (where he was wiped down a bit). DH then got first cuddles while I was being stitched up.

As others have suggested, talking to your midwife about it is a good way to go.

[Shanti]

I don't remember exactly as I was so high on all those lovely birth hormones after having a drug free birth with DD, but they put DD on to my chest and placed a towel across her back and quickly rubbed her down to warm her up and we were chest to chest but the gooey stuff etc didn't bother me! It's all part of birth and you can have a shower afterwards anyway I just remember saying "you're so perfect" that was all I really remember from those early minutes the rest I can't quite remember!!

[MrsC_Aussie]

I have to say it never crossed my mind as being gross. both times I didn't want them to take my lil one away even for a second to see if it wasa boy or girl! with DD1 I knew I was a mother the instant I looked down ab hour after birth and didnt even care my hand was covered with pooh!!! the other thing is I LOVE the newborn smell, but my sister said 'she smells funny' when she held DD2. fair enough I suppose considering what she was covered in, but I think its just another one of those natural mother-newborn bonding tools God gives us!
That said, if you find it a bit gross when it happens, just ask for a towel for bub

[Gigi]

my midwife talked to me about this. she explained the vermix (The white stuff) on the baby, is nature's moisturiser and is beneficial to the baby. Instead of having it washed off, my plan (after her telling me about what is possible), was to leave the vermix on my nb, for three days, rub it into her skin. Most nbs come out all wrinkly, rubbing the vermix in helps that.

i was very disappointed, when my home water birth, became an emerg c-section in hospital, my bub was yanked out not breathing, so she was in resus cart immed being worked on and by the time i got to see her, the nurses had removed all the vermix.

i read wonderful articles online, about the fantastic things IN the vermix, and how healthy that is for the baby.

i also wanted to delay cord cutting, until the cord stopped pulsating. ANother thing we didn't get to do, due to emergency c-section.

The hospitals are very happy to "clean up" your baby. They are less used to being asked "not" to clean up your baby. So if you want the vermix off, i am confident you will get that. I didn't even ask, and it still happened. My baby would have been given formula too, if DH hadn't "stood guard" in ICU and made sure no-one gave her formula. We were in a bf-ing friendly hospital, but i just think that's pretty posters, in reality, they really pushed formula heavily and did things that are against ABA policies (for making bf-ing work, for mums that want to try it).