Kangaroo Care is not a new concept. It has been around for centuries and is commonly practiced in other cultures all the time, as a practical way of life. However, the term was coined in 1979 when doctors in Columbia, in response to a shortage of incubators and a hospital wide infection, started using kangaroo care because they simply couldn’t do anything else. The results were astonishing and Kangaroo Care started being used commonly to treat premature infants and respiratory distress.
Kangaroo Care, as the term is used today, has a variety of definitions but generally consists of at least two elements: breastfeeding and skin to skin contact. You will often hear the term in connection with premature infants but really, kangaroo care benefits all babies.
Since it’s not always possible to breastfeed premature infants at the breast, we will focus research that talks about the benefits of skin to skin contact. Here are some things you may not have known:
Oxygenation improves significantly upon skin to skin contact. It can be improved so much so that doctors have started using oxygenation to treat respiratory distress in the NICU. When baby is placed with mother in the skin to skin environment, oxygenation saturation may improve or the amount of oxygen needed to get good saturation may be lowered.
Core temperature can be better regulated by a mother than an incubator. Skin to skin contact has been shown more effective in treating hypothermic infants than an incubator. Interestingly, mothers are able to control a baby’s body temperature within a very narrow range. Hormonal responses cause a mother to elevate or lower her own core body temperature within a few degrees according to an infant’s needs.
Immunity is improved with kangaroo care. Premature infants are at an increased risk for allergies, and illnesses, especially during the first year of life. Preemies who were kangaroo cared, show a drastically lower rate of illnesses during their first year.
These are just a few of the benefits of Kangaroo Care. I am amazed at the way nature has a way of taking care of itself. Look for another upcoming article on hormones and Kangaroo Care. . .
If you had a preemie, did you kangaroo?
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