Kangaroo Care for Premature Babies
August 19, 2009 at 7:00 AM by Cafe MicheleZ - Comments (8)
I'm learning a lot of new terms being a first time mom-in-waiting, but by far my favorite term is kangaroo care.
I kind of feel like a kangaroo right now -- my twins are inside my belly, I even kind of hop around (OK hobble is more like it).
Kangaroo care is great for babies, especially premature babies, and it's skin-to-skin contact with mama or even papa -- belly to belly, baby's head between breast with ear to heart -- for two to three hours at a time.
This falls in the similar category as baby wearing, but when it comes to preemies, it's especially good for their development. Moms of multiples have a higher chance of having babies early, so I'm learning all I can.
With kangaroo care, a premature baby's temperature, heartbeat, and breathing can be regulated when she is held skin-to-skin in her mother's arms.
The book Kangaroo Care: The Best You Can Do to Help Your Preterm Infant by Susan Ludington-Hoe shares that this practice started in Columbia in an unheated hospital to help preemies survive and thrive. After this care was implemented, survival rates for preterm infants rose 40 percent.
Many nurses in the NICU encourage moms to practice kangaroo care for around three hours a day to help in the baby's development and growth as it synchronizes its vitals with mom.
I am so ready to be a kangaroo mama. I'm going to tell papa about it, too.
Have you heard of kangaroo care? Is this something you are interested in trying with your baby, preemie or not?
FILED UNDER: motherhood, twins & multiples
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Yes, Kangaroo Care is wonderful, in places (not done so much in this country) where a premature baby is placed on mom's chest and just left there for the entire stay in the hospital, babies are released faster and do better! But why won't they, seeing as they are still supposed to be cuddled tightly in the womb.
You can really just call it HOLDING YOUR BABY. It's sad that pepole have to have a name and encourage people to hold and cuddle their infant.
It's suggested that this is one of the many reasons breastfed infants are out of the NICU on average two weeks sooner than formula fed babies - skin to skin contact!
The Moby wrap is great for when babies are out of the hospital, but I'm talking about kangaroo care's benefits for a premature baby, which is skin-to-skin contact with mama or even papa -- belly to belly, baby's head between breast with ear to heart -- for two to three hours at a time. Many nurses in the NICU encourage moms to practice kangaroo care for around three hours a day to help in the baby's development and growth as it synchronizes its vitals with mom.
My little one (1 week old today <3) isnt a preemie but I still love carring him around in the Sleepy Wrap. I like "Koala Care" better than "Kangaroo Care", it sounds more loving ;)
The hospital took him away for three hours after he was born and we never got a chance to do skin-to-skin bonding, and I couldnt nurse him because they refused to take out my IVs and they "forgot" to turn off the epidural. So carring him around in the Wrap with nothing but a diaper and me nothing on my top half at all is just awesome. Since i've been doing it he's been nursing better and actually refuses the bottle. He also has more dirty diapers and never cries at all. I love it <3
That's so great to hear SpiritedTigress. I love the phrase Koala care too! Congrats on your beautiful baby!
Actually RanaAurora KangarooCare is typically a term used for preemies and it is much MORE than just HOLDING your baby. It is skin to skin contact with mommy(or daddy) and baby. I don't know any women who walk around half naked HOLDING their full term babies for hours at a time. I did kangaroo care with my 29 week-er son for hours a day, everyday. He did seem to respond positively and we were able to bring him home 4 weeks before his due date. It is much different than swaddling/holding your child.
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Get yourself a Moby wrap. You can hold 2 babies at once. here is a link that shows pic of twins in them http://www.mobywrap.com/t-instructions-TwinCradle.aspx.
Lynette Aug. 19, 2009 at 12:51 PM