Responding to babies’ needs for comfort and food is hugely beneficial for brain development and makes for more confident toddlers.
Unicef resources
Kangaroo care
‘Kangaroo care’ also known as skin-to-skin contact involves placing a baby against their mother or father’s chest immediately after birth and as much as possible in the next few days and weeks.
It is a way to bond and will help your baby to adjust to new surroundings, calm their breathing and stay warm and close. It is especially important for small and premature babies as it helps their brain to develop and for them to grow and put on weight.
It is also important for women who wish to breastfeed as it will stimulate milk supply and encourage your baby to feed.
Research has shown the following benefits for all babies:
- Helps to regulate the baby’s temperature and helps them maintain its blood sugar levels
- Helps to calm the baby’s breathing and heart rate and recover from birth.
- Minimises stress and separation anxiety in a newborn. This helps brain development
- Helps baby to grow and gain weight.
- Helps to initiate breastfeeding and encourages your baby’s instinct to feed, and stimulates your own milk supply
- Passes the protection of your own skin bacteria onto your baby
Whether you have a vaginal birth, forceps, vacuum or a caesarean birth, we will help you enjoy skin-to-skin contact safely and for as long as you’d like. Your baby will be quickly dried and placed naked onto your bare chest and covered with a warm towel or blanket to keep them warm and a knitted hat to minimise heat loss through their head.
We will also encourage you to have your baby ‘skin to skin’ as much as possible during the next few days. Simple safety recommendations will also be discussed.
No special equipment is needed, just a mum or partner, and a baby! However a KangaWrap may be helpful.
This is a specially designed wrap developed by our midwives. It enables you or your partner to move around with arms and hands free while performing kangaroo care with your baby in a safe position. KangaWraps are available for you to use (free of charge) in hospital.
Research found the KangaWrap helped premature and small babies go home sooner, women were more likely to breast feed successfully and parents appreciated the experience of langaroo care. We will be happy to teach you how to use it safely.
