Skin-to-skin contact can help increase weight gain, promote breastfeeding, and decrease the risk of death or serious infection or sepsis in premature babies.
Skin-to-skin, or Kangaroo Care as it's known, is a method of holding a baby that involves skin-to-skin contact.
The baby is typically naked except for a diaper and is placed in an upright position against their parent’s bare chest.
Both mothers and fathers can do Kangaroo Care.
Benefits of skin-to-skin for premature babies 'enormous'
It’s often used with premature infants while they are still in hospital and it's being promoted for best development and to ensure a healthy and loving experience for both premature babies and their families.
Neonatologist Marlon Timothy, chairman of the National Neonatology Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, recalled a situation earlier this year in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago.
"There was a very sick premature baby. It was a ventilated baby, less than 800 grams.
"We were struggling to stabilize him. Since it was Mother's Day, and we have been encouraging Kangaroo Care in our country for some time, we encouraged the mother to hold him skin-to-skin.
"The baby reduced his oxygen needs by 50% when he was allowed to be skin-to-skin with his mother for one hour.
"The joy that all of us as staff and the mother experienced that day will remain etched in our memories."
Specialist attention
Mr Timothy said Kangaroo Care is a simple practice that is applied around the world in order to "help preterm and small babies stay warm, build maternal/paternal bonding, increase breast milk production, improve the well-being of the baby and boost maternal/paternal confidence."
In the Americas region, around 1.2 million births occur prematurely.
Premature babies require specialized attention and specific care to enable them to survive, grow and develop healthily.
Complications of prematurity are the leading cause of death in the neonatal period and even in the first five years.
World Prematurity Day
This year, the theme of World Prematurity Day which fell on November 17, focused on the promotion of skin-to-skin contact.
This practice has been promoted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure a healthy and loving experience for both premature babies and their families.
An evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the follow-up of newborns at risk, developed by the Latin American Center for Perinatology - Women's Health and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR), recommends that parents or caregivers of newborns weighing less than 2,500 g should enter a Kangaroo Care program or be trained in the skin-to-skin technique to increase weight gain, promote breastfeeding, and decrease the risk of death or serious infection or sepsis.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Kangaroo Care was officially launched in 2019 by Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Port of Spain General Hospital.
However, this practice has been in existence since 1970, having had its beginnings in Colombia and then expanding worldwide.
Covid fall-out
As in other areas of health, the Covid-19 pandemic also had a strong impact on the provision of newborn care services.
A survey developed by WHO to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the continuity of essential health services showed that more than one-third of countries reported interruptions in antenatal and postnatal care services, as well as services for newborns.
The third round of the same survey, published in early 2022, shows that almost all countries in the Americas region continue to report interruptions in essential health services.
Skin-to-skin disruption
On how the practice of skin-to-skin contact in newborn babies was affected, Mr Timothy said: “During the Covid-19 Pandemic, visiting hours were severely reduced and this affected the ability to perform skin-to-skin care.
"Parents were equally afraid that they could infect their babies with Covid-19 and most opted not to hold their babies for long periods while warded."
But he stressed the need to visualize the relevance of the immediate bond that is generated between baby and parent through Kangaroo Care.
"This increases the confidence of mothers and fathers which is essential in the care of their premature or small baby."
Planning for the future
In addition, the specialist indicated that in order for the practice to develop optimally, it is necessary to generate the right conditions.
“Often there are many admissions to a room and we are unable to allow many parents into the space as the equipment and the space needed for the kangaroo care chairs is very limited.
"Parents also have little privacy with so many babies admitted to the rooms and feel discouraged to do skin-to-skin”.
On this, Timothy stated: “In the future, we hope to have step-down units created where the primary mode of care will be skin-to-skin on these units."
The specialist also said it's important to work with healthcare teams and decision-makers so that they can appreciate the enormous benefits of skin-to-skin contact.