Father and son keep newborns warm

The heartwarming pic has gone viral, and sparked a discussion about the importance of skin-to-skin contact. Photo / Facebook/NINO Birth

A cute photo of a father and son cuddling newborn babies to their bare chests has sparked a conversation online about the benefits of skin-to-skin contact.

The photo, which shows a Danish father and his eldest son holding the newest additions to their family, was posted on the NINO birth Facebook page, has been shared on social media over 22,000 times.

Skin to Skin Contact is not "new",but Sweden certainly leads the way in making this care family -friendly even for very...

Posted by NINO Birth on Saturday, 14 May 2016

The caption of the image reads "Skin to Skin Contact is not "new", but Sweden certainly leads the way in making this care family -friendly even for very tiny babies."

The caption goes on to discuss how in Swedish hospitals, premature babies are taken out of the incubator as often as possible, to allow skin-to-skin contact with their parents.

The practice is believed to help regulate a baby's temperature and breathing more effectively than an incubator.

The caption also said a baby "becomes more calm and gains weight faster" with skin-to-skin contact, and that "research shows that parents bacterial flora - compared with hospital bacteria - reduces the risk of serious infections in these delicate children."

The story, and the photo has resonated with many parents.

"My son was born in the 28th week and we spent two months in the hospital practicing skin-to-skin contact," one mother wrote on Facebook.

"My son was born at 29 weeks. He weighed three pounds and three ounces, wrote another parent. "He was in the NICU for seven weeks, but it was an amazing experience having skin-to-skin with child daily. He is a healthy and strong now."

-nzherald.co.nz