Health

Kangaroo mother care seen as saviour for babies born early

When babies come out of their mother’s womb during delivery, the world intrudes into their comfort zone forcing them to adapt fast.

However, this transition does not come easy for premature babies as they are born too soon. The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) technique offers a smooth transition for these delicate babies as it provides a familiar environment to the newborn babies.

“As the baby lies on the mother’s chest, having direct skin-to-skin contact with her, it gets the right body temperature from the mother (neither hot nor cold) that it was used to while in the womb,” says Florence Ogongo, a nurse in charge of the newborn unit at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

She adds that the baby also listens to the mother’s voice, smells her body odour and feels her heart beats— just as it was used to doing before delivery.

Engulfing the baby in such a familiar setting, she says, enhances relaxation since the child feels safe and secure.

This would not be the case in an incubator which is completely foreign to the infant and separates the baby from the mother it was connected to for so long.

Aside from the baby, KMC also offers numerous benefits to mothers. “Since I began KMC, I feel that the bond between me and my son is now stronger,” said Rose Muthoni during an interview at the KNH newborn unit.

Since KMC is done by the mother, health experts note that it enables hospitals to cut on personnel costs. Hospitals stays are also reduced as preterm babies mature faster and leave hospitals early.

As such, their dependence on incubators which may be costly to maintain in most public health facilities is reduced.

The government has partnered with various stakeholders such as Save the Children which seeks to establish KMC centres of excellence in various counties across Kenya.