The power of touch

Positioning your baby on your bare chest, also referred to as Kangaroo Care, creates remarkable benefits for you and your baby...

Kangaroo care is a skin-to-skin experience between an infant and parent. This method is practised on newborns, usually premature babies. Kangaroo care is a way of holding the infant in a foetal position on the bare chest (between the breasts for mothers or directly on the bare chest for fathers) while the parent is resting in a comfy chair. Here are some frequently asked questions on this powerful parenting tool...

WHO IS IT RECOMMENDED FOR?

“It is regularly recommended for preterm and low birth weight babies of less than two kgs and breathing independently. But it can be practised on full-term infants too so that even they benefit from mother’s contact. Kangaroo care is a method used to restore the unique mother-infant bond following the sudden separation during the birth experience, particularly in premature births. When the mother breathes, the rise and fall of her chest and the sound of her heartbeat provide a soothing rhythm for the baby. The baby feels comfortable and safe because of the mother’s body warmth,” says Dr Mamta Sharma, Consultant Paediatrician at Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon.

HOW IS IT DONE?

Typically in kangaroo care, the baby is naked except for a diaper and is held in an upright position on the mother’s bare chest – tummy to tummy. During this time, which may last for an hour or more, the mother should be comfortably seated while holding her infant. The mother wears a shirt or hospital gown which opens in the front. A piece of cloth covering baby’s back (either a blanket or the parent’s clothing), is essential.

WHEN CAN MY BABY START KANGAROO CARE?

Dr Sharma says that the baby should be stable, receiving minimal breathing support. The baby should be able to maintain a normal temperature, heart rate and oxygen level when handled.