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Home › Articles › Preemies › I'm a Kangaroo Baby

I'm a Kangaroo Baby

Exploring Kangaroo Care

By Marie-Helen Goyetche

Pages:  1  2  3  

"We thought it was a really good idea, as now we were able to hold her," says Marcie. "I could tell Sydney was more relaxed and had a deeper sleep when I held her."

For the premature infant, the physiological benefits of Kangaroo Care can be substantial. According to neonatal nurse practitioner Jan Wheeler-Sherman, this skin-to-skin contact has been shown to stabilize the baby's body temperature, increase the amount of sleep time, calm the infant, reduce the number of apnea episodes, and promote stability of heart and respiratory functions.

For parents, the emotional effects can be just as stabilizing.

"[Skin-to-skin] promotes bonding by giving the parents and infant an opportunity to feel close and get to know each other," says Wheeler-Sherman. "The NICU is such an overwhelming technologic environment to most parents. The simple act of holding your baby seems to lend a touch of reality to this unreal, scary situation."

"Participating in Kangaroo Care enabled Mike and me to see Tyler in a different light," says Nancy. "He wasn't this baby in an isolette. He was our tiny little son, in our arms. We could touch him, kiss him and comfort him. We took the time to take his temperature, change his diaper and take on our roles as parents. That felt really good."

Marcie and Tony started Kangaroo Care at 30 minutes per day. They held their daughter and increased their time together to nearly 2 hours each day until Sydney was ready to leave the hospital.

"Both of us took turns holding Sydney. One day it was me, the next day it was Tony. It was a special bonding time for all of us," says Marcie. "It was very good for both of us to hold her since she was in the isolette. We were happy just to change her diaper."


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