kangaroo time
August 25th, 2011 by tatay
the nicu advocates that parents and premature babies bond daily in “kangaroo time.” during these hours, we lie ben facedown on our bare chests. the skin-to-skin contact does several things:
- calms ben by giving him a heartbeat to hear, like he used to in the womb
- provides him with warmth
- stimulates lactation in mom
- makes dad happy
- supposedly promotes healthy infant neurodevelopment
kangaroo time was introduced in hospitals about 20 years ago. a nicu nurse told me that as recently as the 80s, it was thought that premature babies needed to be kept in strict isolation: even doctors were encouraged to stay out of the nicu, and that they needed to sign in to see the babies. i find it remarkable (and a bit scary) how much neonatal care has changed in only two decades or so, especially when you consider that the art of baby rearing has been practiced for thousands of years.
in any case, kangaroo time “feels right.” mom, dad, and ben all find it to be a great way to catch up on much-needed sleep.
