New parents with a premature or critically ill infant might find the high-tech environment of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to be somewhat intimidating at first. Babies who require state-of-the-art services that help them breathe, grow and develop also need specialized care and the expertise of highly trained physicians and nurses. But there is one critical treatment that only a parent can provide: kangaroo care.
What is Kangaroo Care?
Also known as skin-to-skin care, the technique is simple yet literally heartfelt. It involves placing a diaper-clad infant on a parent’s bare chest – tummy to tummy – with the baby’s head turned so that his or her ear is above the parent’s heart. A blanket covers the infant to encourage a cocooning effect. While either parent can engage in kangaroo care, the close contact has especially significant benefits for both mother and baby. The days following delivery are important for bonding and attachment between newborns and their parents. Skin-to-skin contact helps build an emotional connection that promotes the well-being of both parent and child. Studies have found numerous other benefits as well:
Benefits of Kangaroo Care for Babies
- Temperature regulation – A newborn’s tiny body is adjusting to being out in the world, and regulating his or her body temperature can be difficult. Skin-to-skin contact helps keep infants warm.
- Better breathing – Skin-to-skin contact helps stabilize a newborn’s heart rate and breathing, helping both to become more efficient.
- Reduced stress – Kangaroo care helps to reduce stress levels in newborns. The familiar scent, heartbeat, and touch of a parent provide comfort and security.
- Improved sleep – Infants spend less time crying and have longer, deeper periods of sleep during skin-to-skin contact.
- Improved breastfeeding skills – When a newborn is on a mother’s skin near the breast and smells milk, it triggers the baby’s response to latch onto the nipple. This helps establish a healthy breastfeeding routine.
- Weight gain – Temperature regulation, better sleep and easier breathing allow babies to thrive and gain weight.
Benefits of Kangaroo Care for Parents:
- Reduced stress and depression – Skin-to-skin contact has been shown to lower cortisol levels in both babies and parents, reducing stress and promoting a sense of calm. Kangaroo care may help reduce depression in new moms, including postpartum depression.
- Improves milk production – Kangaroo care can stimulate milk production, and mothers produce more milk when pumping just after a skin-to-skin session. This helps establish a healthy breastfeeding routine.
- Enhanced confidence – The more contact parents have with their child, the more their confidence in parenting grows.
Kangaroo Care for Premature Babies at MemorialCare’s NICU
MemorialCare teaches and encourages kangaroo care in its nursery as well as its NICU. The practice has been shown to have a significant impact on survival and growth rates in premature infants and can decrease their number of days in the hospital. Kangaroo care is safe and beneficial even if the infant is connected to high-tech equipment.
For babies in the NICU, research suggests that skin-to-skin contact between baby and parents can improve recovery time and help them leave the NICU sooner. Research has also shown that it has benefits for all babies – not just babies born prematurely – especially for brain development. Kangaroo care for infants with congenital heart disease has also been studied and found to be safe and effective.
Your care team can help you with kangaroo care as soon as you are ready. And you can engage in it even when you leave the hospital – the benefits continue at home. When parents and babies bond and form early attachments – no matter whether in the NICU or at home – the chances of your infant thriving increase exponentially.
Bio
Mohammad Adnan MD, serves as Director of the Small Baby Program at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, working closely with staff in the neonatal intensive care unit. He is double-Boarded in pediatrics and perinatal medicine and completed a neonatology Fellowship at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Adnan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He earned a Master’s of Science in clinical research from Indiana University in Indianapolis and has authored numerous journal articles on the diagnosis and treatment of fragile premature infants. In addition, he serves as a journal reviewer for peer-reviewed medical publications and an Associate Professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine.
Related Providers
