SEPTEMBER is #nicuawarenessmonth
Skin-to-Skin Care 💙 A Brief History of Kangaroo Care
“Peter de Chateau in Sweden first described studies of ‘early contact’ with mother and baby at birth in 1976, articles do not describe specifically that this was skin-to-skin contact. Klaus and Kennell did very similar work in the US, more well known in the context of early maternal-infant bonding. The first reported use of the term ‘skin-to-skin contact’ is by Thomson in 1979 and quotes the work of de Chateau in its rationale. This is contemporary or even precedes the origins of Kangaroo Mother Care in Bogota, Colombia.[36] This latter did however make the concept more widely known.”
“In 1978, due to increasing morbidity and mortality rates in the Instituto Materno Infantil NICU in Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Edgar Rey Sanabria, Professor of Neonatology at Department of Paediatry - Universidad Nacional de Colombia, introduced a method to alleviate the shortage of caregivers and lack of resources. He suggested that mothers have continuous skin-to-skin contact with their low birth weight babies to keep them warm and to give exclusive breastfeeding as needed. This freed up overcrowded incubator space and care givers.”
“Another feature of kangaroo care was early discharge in the kangaroo position despite prematurity. It has proven successful in improving survival rates of premature and low birth weight newborns and in lowering the risks of nosocomial infection, severe illness, and lower respiratory tract disease. It also increased exclusive breastfeeding and for a longer duration and improved maternal satisfaction and confidence.”
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Project Sweet Peas
NICU Parent Network
Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month
www.nicuawareness.org
www.nationalperinatal.org/NICU_Awareness