Kangaroo Care – skin to skin cuddles

Kangaroo care or skin to skin means holding your baby against your bare chest in their nappy and sometimes a hat. As long as you are both comfortable, we encourage you to cuddle your baby for as long as you wish. Ideally, at least one hour of cuddles will give baby and you time to settle and enjoy your time together.

Benefits for you

Decreased stress & anxiety

Helps you to feel close to and connect with your baby

Helps you to get to know your baby

Helps you to gain confidence looking after your baby

Increased milk supply

Helps establish breast feeding

Improves maternal mental health

Skin to skin is an invaluable part of your baby’s care that only you (their family) can provide.

Benefits for your baby

Better temperature control

Increased periods of quiet sleep

Helps to stabilise breathing + heart rate

Increased weight gain

Lower risk of infection

Baby recognises your voice + smell

Baby feels safe and secure

Improved neurodevelopmental outcomes

All babies enjoy skin to skin with their family throughout their neonatal journey. Please speak with your nurse, doctor or therapist for support with comfort holding and kangaroo care.

Comfort holding is a way to comfort and feel close to your baby when they are in their cot or incubator.

Resources

Official Website of the International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day

BLISS Skin to Skin Booklet

BLISS Skin to Skin webpage

You and Your Baby. UNICEF. Supporting love and nurture on the neonatal unit

 

References

Skin to skin with your premature baby. 2002. Bliss – the special care baby charity

Guide to the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Neonatal Standards. 2022. Stage 3 Parent’s
Experiences of Neonatal Units Standard 1 Section 4 Page 9
https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/baby-friendly-resources/implementing-standards-resources/skin-to-skin-contact/https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/news-and-research/baby-friendly-research/research-supporting-breastfeeding/skin-to-skin-contact/https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/UNICEF-UK-Baby-Friendly-Initiative-Guide-to-the-Neonatal-Standards.pdf

Badiee, Z., Faramarzi, S., Mirizadeh, T. The effect of kangaroo mother care on mental health of mothers with low birth weight infants. Adv Biomed Res 2014;3:214

Changrani, K., Menahem, S. Physiological and psychological outcomes of kangaroo mother care of preterm infants – An overview. International Journal of Pregnancy and Child Birth. 2021;7(1):6-13. DOI: 10.15406/ipcb.202111111.07.00219

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