USA Health’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit celebrates Kangaroo Care Day
“Empowering our families to feel more like a parent in the NICU, when bonding can feel limited, is so important in our roles as NICU caregivers,” said Rachel Stanley, RN, NICU nurse and parent educator.
By Casandra Andrews
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While we all know that a hug can usually make us feel better, science confirms that snuggling with a newborn has a variety of positive impacts for both parents and infants.
To recognize the importance of a parental bonding technique known as skin-to-skin contact, 20 families with infants in the level III neonatal intensive care unit at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital spent time purposefully cuddling with their babies during Kangaroo Care Awareness Day on May 15.
The practice got its name from the way a kangaroo cradles its young in a pouch after birth. And just as a baby joey benefits from staying close to its mother in a warm spot, human infants can also benefit from skin-to-skin contact with their parents.
Research shows that the benefits of kangaroo care for babies include a stable heart rate, improved oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, plus increased milk production for the mother. It also is considered a way to reduce stress for the tiniest patients in the NICU, who often are separated from their parents for extended periods of time.
Nurses from the NICU and transport team dressed up in kangaroo suits and posed for photos with many of the families. Parents also had a chance to take part in a class where they enjoyed lunch from the Skylar Project and were able to bring home gifts as a reward for their time spent doing kangaroo care throughout the week.
“One of the things we love about the skin-to-skin technique is that both mothers and fathers can take part,” said Rachel Stanley, RN, a nurse and parent educator in the NICU. “We know that having a child in an intensive care unit can be a scary and challenging time for families. That’s why we strive to create opportunities, such as Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, for parents and newborns to share positive experiences that can truly enhance bonding. Empowering our families to feel more like a parent in the NICU, when bonding can feel limited, is so important in our roles as NICU caregivers”
Here is how the skin-to-skin technique works:
- A baby, clad in a diaper and often a cap, is placed on a parent’s chest so the infant is resting directly on their skin.
- The parent should turn the baby’s head to one side, so one of his or her ears can hear their heartbeat.
- The infant should be covered with a blanket to stay warm.
- Parents are encouraged to hold their baby in that position for at least an hour.
The NICU at Children’s & Women’s Hospital has a long history of helping the smallest babies thrive. Typically, 1,000 babies a year "graduate" from the unit. As part of the region’s only academic health system, specially trained neonatologists and other faculty members help educate the next generation of physicians through the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama.
USA Health also has the area's only neonatal pediatric transport team to provide life support and advanced care to fragile and critically ill newborns during emergency transport to Children’s & Women’s Hospital from other areas across the Gulf Coast.
