Kangaroo Care: The Best You Can Do to Help Your Preterm Infant

I discovered this book in January, 1995, when it was very little known. My son was born 8 weeks premature in a Honolulu, hospital that had never heard of Kangaroo Care. He was transferred to NICU at a military hospital after 11 days so I never did the KC there, but I did pass my book on to my son's neonatologist in hopes that this would be available for future parents/premies. I did KC as often as I was able at the military hospital and my son came off all meds and monitors 3 wks after his early birth. All he had to do was gain weight. He come home a mere 4 weeks after his birth, and 4 weeks before he original due date! I continued to Kangaroo him at home, all day long some days and he gained so fast it was miraculous! Two and a half years later I gave birth to a full term daughter but used KC again because, "it couldn't hurt" and we never suffered those backwards hours that newborns have and I bounced back faster after this birth because I was resting more. Kangaroo Care is worth buying, in fact buy two so you will still have one when you pass one on!! :-)

Our full-term (37wk) son was in the NICU due to a birth defect. This method was explained to us as we started to be able to hold him and I was trying to teach him to nurse. All I can say is IT WORKS. He was able to go home at 6 wks when we were told he would probably be in for than 3 mos. min. When you think about it it makes sense...this baby was inside you and close to you for however many months you carried him/her. Don't you think dropping the child in a "box" with no human contact would be a shock to the system? I think that "normal" babies could probably benefit from this too. Lord willing, I'll get a chance to prove my theory. :-)

Three years ago, our 4th child - our tiny son - was born at 28 weeks. This book was loaned to me by the lactation consultant at my hospital while he was in Neonatal-ICU. It showed me that there really was a LOT I could do to help my child, and I wasted no time at all following the suggestions and advice in the book. The nurses caring for my son were very supportive when they found out I wanted to do this! Basically, the technique involves cuddling your naked baby on your bare chest - between the breasts is fine for mom, or in a "nursing" position. Whenever I held my baby with this skin-to-skin contact, tears of happiness and contentment would stream down my cheeks for several minutes. These were wonderful moments during terrifying times (we were not sure he'd live). And this is a wonderful book - worth it's weight in solid gold! I'm buying a copy to keep on hand in case any friends or relatives deliver a premie.P.S. My son was able to leave the hospital at only 35 weeks post-conception (6 weeks earlier than the doctors estimated!) Today, he's a happy healthy 3-yr old.

My daughter was born ten weeks premature and weighed 1270 grams. A wonderful social worker at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York gave me this out-of-print book to encourage my husband and me to do kangaroo care with our little girl. It was an amazing success! We placed our tiny baby over our hearts, skin to skin, for significant periods of time. Not all nurses were familiar with it, but were encouraging once they understood what we were doing. This book gave us the courage, information and confidence to perform what we believe was a critical aspect of her healthy development; not only in the neonatal unit, but until she was big enough to sit up. The book is helpful in explaining the background and theories underlying kangaroo care and describes how parents and health care providers can perform it with care. Our daughter is now a normal, 1 1/2 year old, healthy little girl. Our best wishes to parents of all preemies.

Kangaroo Care by Susan M. Luddington-Hoe, Susan K. Golant is one of the best things the parent of a premature baby can do for him/herself. It gives specific reasons for using Kangaroo Care (holding the baby skin-to-skin inside your clothes for a period of time daily) and includes the scientific research to back it up. For instance, research has found that a mother's skin temperature increases if the baby's temperature drops, and consequently, she is better at regulating the baby's temperature than an isolette or warmer. The authors give specific instructions which help the nervous parent handle his/her tiny baby and include a section on how to convince the hospital staff to give Kangaroo Care a try. Finally, it is written in a very reader-friendly, conversational tone. This book would be helpful for the parent of ANY newborn, but it should be required reading if your infant is premature.