Photo credit: Alter Family
Kangaroo care is a simple but powerful practice that helps NICU babies grow stronger through skin-to-skin contact. From improved stability to deeper bonding, its benefits are both immediate and long-lasting.
What Is Kangaroo Care?
Kangaroo care, also called skin-to-skin contact, is a type of care that helps all newborns, especially babies in the NICU. It means placing your baby directly on mom or dad’s bare chest. Parents gently hold their baby so they can be close, hear a heartbeat and voice, and feel comforted. Even in the busy NICU, this quiet time helps parents and babies bond.
Depending on your baby’s condition, kangaroo care may begin right after birth or once they are more stable. Even very small or medically fragile babies, including those on breathing support, can benefit from short sessions. When possible, sessions should last at least an hour, since shorter times can be stressful for your baby. Your care team can help you know when your baby is ready and guide you through the process.
Benefits of Kangaroo Care for NICU Babies
Kangaroo care helps a newborn feel safe and warm and provides comfort. It can also help with bonding, Research shows greater bonding with parents and as a result more calm and less stress, which positively impacts their brain and emotional development.
Kangaroo care can:
- Regulate your baby’s heart rate, breathing and temperature
- Improve head circumference growth and weight gain
- Stabilize baby’s organ function and self-regulation abilities
- Help babies experience less pain and less crying
- Facilitate better sleep patterns
- Help your baby avoid infections
- Increases baby’s willingness to breastfeed when they are ready
- Result in a shorter hospital stay
Photo credit: Beverly Demafiles Photography
Benefits of Kangaroo Care for Parents
Participating in kangaroo care has benefits for parents too.
- Stimulates milk production and facilitates a positive breastfeeding relationship with your baby.
- Increases the production of oxytocin, a powerful hormone that – along with helping in milk production – has been hypothesized to reduce feelings of fear, anxiety and maternal stress in the postpartum period.
- Provides valuable bonding time with your baby. Talk softly, sing or hum to your baby, or just sit quietly and enjoy the moment.
- Empowers both parents so they feel like a significant part of their baby’s life, learning critical knowledge about caring for their baby and becoming a part of their schedule, all while building a lasting bond.
It’s important to note that kangaroo care is not a suitable substitute for the advice and care of a medical professional. If you feel you may be experiencing postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or post traumatic stress disorder, please contact your doctor today.
What Research Says About Kangaroo Care
Research points to long-term advantages of kangaroo care as well. Newborns who experienced kangaroo care in the NICU were more attached and bonded to their mothers over time. Babies were more alert after six months and their mothers were more attuned to their infant’s cues and experienced less depression. In early childhood, children receiving kangaroo care also show increased social competence, a positive sense of self and improved cognitive and motor development. These benefits are all signs of healthy brain development. In 2016 a study was released that revealed kangaroo care held significant, long-lasting social and behavioral protective effects even 20 years later.
How to Do Kangaroo Care in the NICU
When you do kangaroo care with your NICU baby, you’ll want a comfortable place to sit with pillows for support and to help position the baby. Undress from the waist up and wear a hospital gown or wrap open to the front. A stretchy shirt with a wide neck would also work, where the baby can be tucked inside. Many hospitals provide a privacy curtain or screen for changing.
During kangaroo care, the baby is undressed down to the diaper and placed directly on mom or dad’s bare chest. Your NICU team will help reposition any wires or tubes and ensure the baby is positioned correctly. Cover the baby with a lightweight blanket or wrap to stay warm and for privacy. The nurse will monitor the baby closely to ensure they are maintaining temperature and are not experiencing any episodes of apnea or bradycardia.
When Kangaroo Care May Not Be Possible
Kangaroo care may not be possible if your baby is not stable, needs special breathing support, or has drops in oxygen when moved. It may also be delayed if a parent is ill, if the baby has certain medical needs, or if the NICU setting doesn’t allow it.
Many times it feels that there are very few things you can do for your baby while in the NICU. Kangaroo care can be an opportunity for mothers and fathers to do something positive for their precious newborn. Kangaroo care is a great time to talk softly, sing or hum quietly to your baby, or sit quietly and be grateful for the small things. Ignore the monitors and concentrate on the feeling of your baby’s skin, her breath, her smell, the sweet noises, the weight of her on your chest. This is a precious moment and that hour will fly by. Before you know it you will be asking when can I do it again?