Kangaroo Care Day hopes to bring attention to the positive physiological and psychological benefits of Kangaroo Care.
Kangaroo Care is the practice of providing continuous and prolonged skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest contact between an infant and parent. The parent's chest becomes the place of care. It is an evidence-based, effective technique for supporting optimal brain growth and development for the baby, while also promoting parental health and well-being in the short and long term.
As we celebrate Kangaroo Care Day it is important to recognize the powerful benefits this practice provides for both infants and their caregivers. Kangaroo care improves survival, health and development outcomes for preterm or LBW infants, empowers parents to become powerful change agents in the care of their infants, and promotes satisfaction with their own and their infant's care.
- Helps stabilize temperature, heart and breathing rates
- Supports brain growth and development
- Decreases pain during painful procedures
- Reduces infections by introducing parent's good bacteria
- Improves quality and duration of sleep
- Enhances early breastfeeding or chestfeeding behaviours
- Decreases the parents' risk of anxiety, stress and depression
- Helps with bonding and attachment
- Increases parents' confidence in ability to care for their infant
- Improves milk supply and long-term breastfeeding or chestfeeding success
In British Columbia's NICUs, we are supporting families to do as much Kangaroo Care as possible with the support of kangaroo care wraps and education resources. The Kangaroo Care wraps provide safety and comfort for families to hold their babies for longer and to sleep safely.
Last year, the World Health Organization published a global position paper and implementation strategy for the scaling up of Kangaroo Care in all resource settings. The WHO recommends kangaroo care as an essential standard place of care – starting immediately from birth when possible and holding for 8 to 24 hours a day for maximum benefits.
We wish all families and healthcare providers in the NICU a Happy International Kangaroo Care Day! We believe in the healing power of parental touch.
