Kangaroo Care
Saint Joseph London now promotes Kangaroo Care. Nothing is more precious than the gift of life.
Kangaroo Care is a form of skin-to-skin contact between a parent and their baby. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held in an upright position against the parent's bare chest. The baby is held this way for 20 minutes to four hours a day. This is called Kangaroo Care because it is similar to the way a baby kangaroo is snuggled against its mother.
Benefits of Kangaroo Care
Kangaroo Care has been shown to provide a number of benefits to both parents and babies.
Benefits to the baby may include:
- Increased parent-infant bonding
- Comfort from hearing the parent's heartbeat
- Earlier breast-feeding
- Increased ability to keep warm
- Increased deep sleep states
- Increased oxygen level
Benefits to parents may include:
- Increased parent-infant bonding
- Increased breast milk supply
- Continuos breast-feeding for longer periods of time
- Increased readiness for discharge
- Increased confidence in ability to care for baby
- Increased sense of contro
When Can the Baby Start Kangaroo Care?
Kangaroo Care is started right in the delivery room as soon as the nurses determine the baby is eligible. Mom is encouraged to Kangaroo Care until the first breastfeeding is finished, which is right at birth for about an hour, and then dad can Kangaroo Care in the postpartum room. After that, parents can Kangaroo Care after baths, to support breastfeeding, to calm a crying child and for increased bonding.
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