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Home › Articles › Newborn Care › I'm a Kangaroo Baby

I'm a Kangaroo Baby

Exploring Kangaroo Care

By Marie-Helen Goyetche

Pages:  1  2  3  

When a baby kangaroo (a joey) is born, it is barely the size of a bean. It crawls unaided from the mother's birth canal up the abdomen into the pouch. Once the joey is inside, it attaches its mouth to one of the four nipples. There, in the safety and warmth of its mother's pouch, the joey matures. Isn't nature wonderful?

Going back to basics is now the latest trend for moms who deliver well before their EDDs (expected delivery dates).

Marcie and Tony's EDD was October 9, 1999. But on July 20, while in week 28 of her pregnancy, Marcie gave birth. Baby Sydney weighed just 2 pounds, 6 ounces.

Nancy and Mike also delivered early. Because of an infection, Nancy went into labor well ahead of her September 25, 1999 due date. Her doctor couldn't stop her contractions and her water broke. On June 20, in week 26, Nancy delivered her baby. Tyler weighed a tiny 1 pound, 15 ounces.
This method is taken from Mother Nature's example with baby kangaroos. The premature baby, wearing only a diaper, is placed on the mother's or father's bare chest, inside the blouse or shirt. A blanket is placed over the baby. The warm skin-to-skin contact benefits both parents and baby.

Nurses suggested that these babies might be ideal candidates for a relatively new approach to preemie health: skin-to-skin care, also known as Kangaroo Care.

This method is taken from Mother Nature's example with baby kangaroos. The premature baby, wearing only a diaper, is placed on the mother's or father's bare chest, inside the blouse or shirt. A blanket is placed over the baby. The warm skin-to-skin contact benefits both parents and baby.

Kangaroo Care let these parents hold their babies -- an opportunity they otherwise might not have had while Sydney and Tyler were in isolettes in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). After the parents agreed to give it a try, the nurses placed colored cardboard signs on the babies' isolettes that read, "I'm a Kangaroo Baby!"


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