Kangaroo care is aptly named. Most people are familiar with kangaroos. They are modestly sized, robust marsupial mammals native to Australia. Because of their special pouch (called a marsupium), kangaroos can be born very early in the gestation process. In fact, young kangaroos continue to develop after birth, nourished and protected by their parents’ pouch.
Turning to humans, it’s easy to see why “kangaroo care” became the common nomenclature for a type of care developed specifically to improve outcomes with preterm babies. To be sure, humans and kangaroos raise their offspring very differently! But the naming convention provides a useful visual metaphor.
Kangaroo care refers to a specific way to hold your newborn infant. Essentially, it’s a way of holding your infant against your chest in a way that’s comfortable, comforting, and nurturing. It may sound simple, but kangaroo care has been shown to make a big impact. And while its origins may focus on improving outcomes for preterm babies, this type of long-duration, skin-on-skin contact also yields significant positive physiological and emotional benefits for both parents and babies.
What is Kangaroo Care?
Cuddling with your baby and holding them close is something that has occurred frequently for as long as human beings have been around. But kangaroo care as a specific, clinical practice can be traced back to Edgar Rey, MD, and Hector Martinez, MD, two Colombian doctors who were attempting to improve mortality rates among preterm infants.
In part, that’s because many preterm infants spend a great deal of time in isolation, separated from other humans and loved ones by specialized equipment. Adoption of kangaroo care in special facilities for preterm babies (now called Neonatal Intensive Care Units, or NICUs) results in a dramatic improvement of outcomes.
These benefits were so noticeable that parents and pediatricians alike began adopting kangaroo care more broadly. While kangaroo care may be clinically called for in NICU settings, it’s often seen as a best practice for healthy babies, too. There is significant research suggesting that kangaroo care is indeed beneficial for all babies, including preterm infants, infants with low birth weight, and healthy infants.
In general, this technique is usually best to employ during the first month or two of your baby’s life.
How is Kangaroo Care Performed?
During kangaroo care, you will hold your infant to your bare chest. The idea is to simply let your infant rest against your chest. The infant will typically be wearing only a diaper, a hat, and socks. It’s important to also cover your baby with a blanket. These articles of clothing help keep your baby warm, preventing hypothermia, but do not interfere with the skin-on-skin contact. Parents, in general, will want to keep a bare chest for the duration of the session. This will provide a near total experience of skin-on-skin contact or your infant. Most parents of healthy babies will schedule at least 1-2 hours of kangaroo care time per day. Infants in NICU settings may require more.
But the general rule of thumb is that longer sessions are generally better. During longer sessions, benefits will typically become more pronounced. In order to facilitate these longer sessions, many parents will opt to wear clothing that opens from the front in order to make this process easier. (If you are in a healthcare setting, a gown that opens from the front can often be provided to you.)
What are the Benefits of Kangaroo Care?
Kangaroo care can have a significant number of benefits for both parents and infants up to the age of two months. These benefits may be more pronounced or more critical for preterm and low birth weight babies. However, it’s likely that nearly all infants will experience some degree of benefit.
Some of the most pronounced benefits include the following:
Heart rate: Kangaroo care can help keep your baby’s heart rate nice and steady. This also applies to their breathing pattern, which can normalize after kangaroo care.
Better sleep: This type of skin-on-skin contact can also help your baby sleep better and engage in healthier sleep cycles.
Improved growth: Kangaroo care can encourage your baby’s growth, especially important in NICU settings. This can lead to very important weight gain for your baby–which is especially beneficial for preterm and low birth weight babies.
Better feeding: Because a significant portion of growth for infants is the result of how many calories they ingest on a daily basis, it’s critical that kangaroo care can significantly improve feeding for babies. This is, in part, because skin-on-skin contact on the chest can encourage rooting and nursing behavior.
Improved immune response: In part because kangaroo care can help your baby sleep better, regular sessions can also help improve your infant’s overall immune response.
Reduce pain: There’s significant evidence to suggest that kangaroo care sessions can help reduce certain types of pain in babies, especially preterm and low-weight infants.
Kangaroo care can also have significant benefits for parents as well. Some of those benefits include the following:
Improved bonding: Kangaroo care can help you more successfully bond with your baby. This is especially true if you are enjoying multi-hour sessions nearly seven days a week.
Building parenting confidence: When you practice kangaroo care, you’ll start to feel more self-assured in your role as a parent. You may start to feel that you’re getting in tune with your infant and beginning to understand what they need.
Increased milk production: Kangaroo care can also encourage increased breast milk production and make nursing easier for some parents. For some parents, this may occur very quickly after regular kangaroo care; for others, it may take some time. And, of course, it may not happen for all parents.
Lower stress: Kangaroo care can also help you lower your own stress levels (this, in turn, can lead to lower stress levels for your baby, too).
For many parents, kangaroo care is a chance to relax and enjoy some time with your infant. It’s an opportunity to block out the rest of the world and focus on building that bond between yourself and your newborn, creating memories and moments together. In other words, for some parents, kangaroo care is something to enjoy–and that is reason enough to make time for it every day.
The emotional benefits of kangaroo care for both parents and babies are significant and should not be ignored. The bonding, happiness, and comfort that both infants and parents can experience can be a long-lasting feature of regular kangaroo care sessions.
How to do Kangaroo Care
Every parent and every baby is unique, so how you experience kangaroo care will largely be guided by your own needs and goals (as well as the needs and health of your baby). As you explore this type of skin-on-skin contact, you’ll determine what works for you, for your baby, and for the two of you together.
Additionally, how you handle kangaroo care at home may be different than in a clinical setting, such as a NICU. Be sure to talk to your providers about what kangaroo care can look like for you and your newly expanded family.
In general, however, here are some tips that can make kangaroo care time a little easier to manage:
If your infant is in the NICU or other clinical setting, call ahead to let the nurses on staff know that you want to spend some time with your infant doing kangaroo care. This can help the nursing staff better prepare and assist you when you arrive.
If your infant is in the NICU, try to shower before you arrive at the hospital. This will help cut down on possible illnesses, irritants, or harmful substances that may make their way to your baby. Make sure you have no rashes and open wounds. Additionally, avoid kangaroo care if you know you are ill.
Make sure you eat, hydrate, and use the restroom before you start a kangaroo care session. After all, sessions can easily last for an hour or more.
Wear a shirt that is easy to open and close from the front. This will make it easier for your infant to experience the skin-on-skin contact that makes kangaroo care work so well.
Make sure your baby is covered by a blanket and is wearing a hat, socks, and a diaper. This will help prevent hypothermia.
Put your phone somewhere else and turn it on silent. You don’t want to be distracted by text messages, social media, or other electronic media. The goal of kangaroo care is to focus solely on your infant.
Make sure you are comfortable! For some parents, standing will present the most comfortable position. For others, it may be a comfortable couch or a recliner. You don’t want to cut things short because your back starts hurting or your legs get tired.
That said, it’s critical to never fall asleep during kangaroo care. This can be a challenge for exhausted parents, but it’s important. If necessary, set an alarm on your phone or put some music on.
Use kangaroo care techniques for infants up to the age of two months.
Good for Parents and Infants
For roughly 50 years, kangaroo care has long been proven to have a significant beneficial impact on both parents and children. And while these benefits may present most strongly in low weight and preterm infants, they do appear in all infants as well. In other words, this skin-on-skin contact can be a critical part for improving emotional bonds and overall wellness for all infants.
If you have questions about kangaroo care, you can discuss them with your baby’s pediatrician during their regular wellness visits. If you want to talk to a Children’s Healthcare Associates pediatrician, you can make an appointment at our Chicago or Northbrook offices.