Dubai Health Authority's Twitter Clinic highlights the importance of Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo Care (KC) is one of the most promising ways to save preterm and low birth weight babies.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 May, 2015:  Dubai Health Authority(DHA) highlighted today the importance of Kangaroo Care, which is one of the most promising ways to save preterm and low birth weight babies.

Information was disseminated via DHA’s #smart clinic to more than 70,000 followers of the DHA page( DHA_Dubai) on Twitter. Additionally, Dubai Hospital also conducted a public awareness campaign in its hospital to educate patients and visitors about kangaroo care.

Dr. Maryam Abdulrahman Al Sada, paediatrician at Dubai Hospital, said: “Kangaroo care is a technique practiced on newborn, usually preterm, infants wherein the infant is held, skin-to-skin, with an adult.  At Dubai Hospital, we encourage all mothers, even those who have given birth to full-term healthy babies, to follow this technique because of the immense benefits of the baby.

“Studies have found that skin-to-skin holding stabilizes heart and respiratory rates, improves oxygen saturation rates, better regulates an infant's body temperature, and conserves a baby's calories because the extra sleep that the infant gets snuggling with mom and the assistance in regulating body temperature helps the baby conserve energy and redirects calorie expenditures toward growth and weight gain.  Due to kangaroo care the baby becomes colonised with the mother’s own bacteria which prevents the baby from developing severe infections. Research has also shown that kangaroo care results in positive effects on brain development.”

Kangaroo Care (KC) is one of the most promising ways to save preterm and low birth weight babies and we have seen drastic improvement in their health. “In fact, kangaroo care is also beneficial for the hospital setting because babies need less time in incubators when kangaroo care is effectively implemented,” added Al Sada.

Dubai  hospital ensures that all babies who are fit, undergo kangaroo care. If the mother is unwell, the hospital encourages other family members such as the father or the grandmother to provide kangaroo care.  Al Sada “Kangaroo care for pre-term infants may be restricted to a few hours per day, but if they are medically stable that time may be extended. Some parents may keep their babies in-arms for many hours per day and it  all depends on the condition of the baby. Babies who are on ventilators have weak lungs and are hyper-reactive to strong smells that can induce wheezing.  Therefore, we encourage mothers to have a shower before holding the baby and to refrain from wearing any perfume, oud, bakhoor etc. The amount of time for kangaroo care depends on the condition of the baby and the hospital staff is always at hand to inform and guide the mother.

“Some babies are severely sick and cannot be taken off the incubator at all. We encourage mothers to touch the baby’s hands after they have thoroughly washed and sanitized their hands in line with our hospital’s hygiene policy.”

Al Sada said  that fathers can also participate in kangaroo care and parents should practise it until the child is six months of age. “ I would recommend parents  practise kangaroo care for six months if they can and the amount of time depends on them. After six months the baby starts to get active and starts moving around so the time spent on kangaroo care is automatically reduced.”