Ep.1/ Kangaroo Care
“Breastfeeding is a behavior which shapes and sculpts the brain, and that brain shaping stays for life.” - Dr Nils Bergman
I began my nursing career in the early 2000’s. At this time in healthcare, we had nurseries where all the babies would be lined up at night to get their bath and bottles. As a new nurse, this thrilled me. I helped in the newborn nursery. I learned how to swaddle and bathe a baby. I was unaware of the long-term repercussions of these actions.
Over the years, we have more research on the benefits of skin-to-skin and most hospitals have changed their ways. Now, I sing the praises of skin-to-skin and kangaroo care.
The term kangaroo care comes from the way kangaroos hold their babies in their pouch. The baby kangaroo has no hair and is the size of a peanut yet must crawl into the pouch themselves. They use their sense of smell to find their way from the birth canal to the inside of the pouch where the nipple is located. This pouch protects the joey but also provides it with an environment that is essential for development. This includes warmth, food, comfort, stimulation and protection. They stay in that pouch for months growing and developing.
Most mammals have young that can fend for themselves. Human babies are much more reliant on their mothers, just like kangaroos. At birth, if a baby is held skin-to-skin without interruption, they go through nine stages preparing themselves for the outside world. These stages include the birth cry, relaxation, awakening, activity, rest, crawling, familiarization , sucking then sleeping. These behaviors reflect the same motions and and order that they have been practicing in utero. This represents the pathway to ensure their survival. Basically, this sets them up to have an easier transition into the world both short term and long term. Much like the joey that makes it’s way to the pouch without interference, we should allow our infants to attempt to make it to the breast with as little assistance as possible.
The World Heath Organization recommends skin to skin contact for eight to twenty four hours a day. Skin to skin has many long and short term benefits. The short term benefits include stabilization of the infant’s heartrate, improvement of the baby’s breathing and better oxygen levels. Skin to skin releases oxytocin , or the love hormone. This helps decrease stress and relaxes both mother and baby. It regulates the infant’s temperature and stimulates digestion in the infant. Skin to skin helps to increase a mothers milk supply due to lowered stress hormones and stimulation of the nipples leading to higher oxytocin and prolactin levels in the mother.
Long term, skin to skin helps colonize the infant’s skin with the mother’s healthy bacteria. This creates a diverse microbiome that will protect the infant’s immune system for a life time. Studies show that infant’s that have been held skin to skin vs ones that have been separated from their mothers have different gut and skin bacteria. NICU babies who have been held skin to skin have fewer incidence of intestinal infections and better long term results than their counterparts who have been immediately placed in incubators.
Dr Nils Bergman is a Swedish specialist on perinatal neuroscience. He teaches the importance of the first 1000 minutes. In this time, the framework for infant’s neuropathways have been laid. Foundations are laid upon which higher circuits can be built. The environment tells our DNA that the world is safe. It is alright to eat, rest ,grow and connect. Or tells our DNA that the world is unsafe and we need to be on guard. Then cortisol will course through the circuits. Cortisol is a stress hormone. This hormone is ten times higher in the infant that is in an incubator than an infant kept skin to skin with his mother. Elevated cortisol levels can increase the risk for health issues such as heart disease, lung issues, obesity, anxiety, depression and more.
Keeping your infant skin to skin for the first 1000 minutes can improve the infant’s health for a lifetime.
