As part of Kangaroo Care Awareness Day on May 15th, Children’s Memorial Hermann Memorial City and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center hosted a variety of events throughout the following week to encourage parents to provide Kangaroo care.Kangaroo care, also called skin-to-skin holding, is when a mother or father holds their diaper clad infant to their bare chest. This extremely simple, but very powerful technique was first used in South America as a way to keep premature infants warm and get them home sooner.
Since then, kangaroo care has proven to be very beneficial to both preterm and term infants. Studies done by the World Health Organization show Kangaroo care helps with body system regulation and better immunity for the infants, as well as enhanced bonding and reduced postpartum depression for mothers.