Welcome the Baby: A Gentle Guide to the First Moments After Birth

The moment your baby enters the world is magical; a mixture of awe, relief, and deep connection. In those first minutes and hours, simple, intentional practices can help your baby transition gently, support their wellbeing, and nurture your own recovery.

Whether you are birthing at home, in a birth center, or in a hospital, many of these practices can be adapted to your setting. Here is a gentle guide to creating a calm, meaningful beginning for both of you.

1. Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping: Giving the Gift of Time

When your baby is born, one of the first gifts you can offer is time. Waiting a few minutes before clamping the umbilical cord allows the placenta to finish transferring blood to your baby, supporting healthy iron levels and delivering stem cells that are thought to support immunity and healing.

This isn’t only a medical practice; it’s a quiet, gentle way to ease your baby into the world.

You may hold your baby upright in your lap or resting on your chest. In these positions, your baby can remain alert, secure, and deeply connected while their circulation transitions naturally and bonding begins. 

2. Keeping the Vernix On: Nature’s Protective Blanket

The creamy white coating on your newborn’s skin - the vernix - is another remarkable gift of nature. Rather than washing it away immediately, allowing it to remain on your baby’s skin helps protect delicate tissue, regulate temperature, and support the development of healthy skin bacteria.

Vernix acts as a natural shield, creating a gentle bridge between womb and world. In these early hours, it supports both physiological wellbeing and emotional connection, especially during uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact. 

3. Honoring the Placenta: A Symbol of Nourishment and Connection

The placenta is often handled quickly and clinically in modern birth care, yet it has played a profound role in sustaining life throughout pregnancy.

Beyond its biological function, the placenta can be honoured in many ways- planted beneath a tree, as art (placenta print art) or prepared in rituals where it is valued for perceived nutritional or emotional benefits.

Whatever you choose, acknowledging the placenta can bring a sense of reverence and closure to the birth experience. For many parents, this act offers emotional grounding and a meaningful transition into the postpartum period. 

4. Belly Binding and Pelvic Support: A Gentle Embrace for Healing

As your body begins its own recovery, you may reach for a soft wrap or belly binding. In many cultures, belly binding has long been used to support postpartum healing.

Gentle support around the abdomen, pelvis, and sacrum can help stabilize ligaments that loosened during pregnancy, ease back and pelvic discomfort, and encourage the uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy state.

Beyond physical support, the wrap can feel like a comforting embrace—a reminder that your body is held as it regains strength. Moving gently while wrapped, through short walks, micro-stretches, or pelvic tilts, can enhance recovery and foster a sense of embodied confidence.

5. Weaving It All Together: Creating a Gentle First Hour

When these practices come together, they create a rhythm for the first hours after birth that is both practical and soulful.

Your baby rests on your chest, their skin protected by vernix, their blood enriched through placental transfusion. You honour your own body with gentle support and intentional care. Perhaps later, you plant the placenta, wrap your belly, and simply sit together; breathing, skin to skin; allowing the world to soften around this new life.

These moments may seem small, but they set the tone for your baby’s early hours and your own postpartum journey. In the quiet intimacy of first contact, in the warmth of a gentle wrap, and in the reverence of honouring the placenta, you offer a profound welcome - one that supports bonding, recovery, and the deep, unspoken magic of new beginnings.