What Is Kangaroo Mother Care?
What Is Kangaroo Mother Care?
Did you know that Kangaroo Mother Care is a method that has worked very successfully all over the world, especially when a newborn baby requires intensive care and does not have access to an incubator?
Babies who are underweight or experiencing preterm growth restriction often require intensive care, including incubators, to regulate their body temperature and support their development. While large hospitals typically have incubators, smaller healthcare facilities may lack access to such equipment.
In cases where a baby can breathe on its own but still needs warmth and close monitoring, an alternative approach called Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) can be highly effective. This method, successfully used in many countries, mimics the way a kangaroo keeps its baby in its pouch for warmth and protection.
In Kangaroo Mother Care, the baby is placed directly against the caregiver’s chest and secured with a cloth to maintain skin-to-skin contact. This helps maintain the baby’s body temperature, promotes bonding, and supports overall growth and well-being.
Episode 8 of Kashf Sehat Ka Paigham addresses critical questions related to newborn and maternal health:
● What can be done if a newborn baby isn’t breathing at birth?
● Is stunting hereditary?
● What procedures should be followed if a mother experiences significant blood loss during or after delivery?
Prof. Dr. Sadiah Ahsan Pal, Consultant Obstetrician, Gynecologist, and IVF Specialist, explains the importance of Kangaroo Mother Care and how it can make the difference between life and death.
A baby’s first minute of life is the most critical. If a newborn isn’t breathing, there’s just one golden minute to act — because every second counts.
If a baby is born and he is not breathing, we have one just minute to give him life. Taking the baby to the hospital at that time will be too late. It is critical, therefore, that we help a newborn breathe within that one minute of his birth. Newborn resuscitation involves approximately 40 breaths per minute, and this skill, if learned and administered to the baby within the first minute of birth, may help the baby breathe, increasing chances of survival. It is therefore imperative that the person who is delivering the baby must be trained in newborn resuscitation. This is a skill that everyone can learn.
What if a mother is losing excess blood after delivery?
How can we provide immediate healthcare for the new mother? The mother (according to the birth plan) must be referred to a hospital, and a family member must travel with her to the hospital. A mother experiencing excessive loss of blood after delivery must be administered blood in a hospital (under correct medical supervision and screening). This cannot be carried out at home.
Planned pregnancies and pregnancy care
Episode 8 of Kashf Sehat Ka Paigham also sheds light on planned pregnancies. Dr. Sadiah Ahsan Pal recommends a 2–3 year gap between pregnancies for healthier babies and to allow more time for the mother’s body to recover from the previous pregnancy. This also ensures that successive children are healthy, and the mother can tend to all her children.
More in Episode 8
The effects of stunting and whether it is hereditary: can a mother who had experienced stunted growth as a child be able to deliver her own baby normally? Is she more susceptible to miscarriage, and what other health risks are mother and baby exposed to? Moreover, is stunting more prevalent in girls or boys, and why?
Episode 8 is now available on KASHF Foundation’s YouTube channel. Stay connected with us on Instagram @kashffoundation for more expert insights!
About Sehat Ka Paigham
KASHF Foundation’s Sehat Ka Paigham podcast is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at empowering women and families with essential knowledge about maternal and child health. Each episode brings together leading experts to address critical topics like breastfeeding, malnutrition, pregnancy complications, and growth stunting in children. Designed to educate and debunk myths, these eight episodic podcasts focus on providing actionable advice rooted in research conducted in rural Pakistan. With renowned host Sania Saeed at the helm, Sehat Ka Paigham is bridging the gap between expert insights and community awareness, ensuring healthier futures for mothers and children across the country.
