Bravo to the nursing team of the JGH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit! They guided families to spend a total of 175 hours providing kangaroo care in the week leading up to International Kangaroo Care Day on May 15.
Each year, NICU nursing teams at Montreal-area hospitals engage in a friendly competition to raise awareness about Kangaroo Care, an evidence-based technique in post-natal care. The technique—inspired by kangaroo mothers, who keep their joeys close to them in their pouch—involves holding a baby, skin to skin, on the mother’s (or sometimes the father’s) chest while the newborn sleeps, feeds, has their vital signs read or receives medication.
Not only does the close physical contact regulate the baby’s physiological functions (such as breathing, temperature and heartrate), it stimulates a mother’s milk production for breastfeeding and enhances the length and quality of the baby’s sleep.
As well, Kangaroo Care improves psycho-emotional health by helping mother and child to bond, while deepening feelings of closeness and security.
To keep NICU nurses up to date on the latest best practices, veteran team members become champions of Kangaroo Care. They guide less experienced nurses to become more comfortable handling the little ones as they are transferred from the incubator to the parent, and in all other aspects of Kangaroo Care. Experienced nurses also provide instruction through role-playing simulations, enabling younger nurses to support parents in nurturing their newborn.
A heartfelt thank you to our nurses—true pillars of this initiative—for their exceptional commitment to babies and their families.