The beauty and benefits of kangaroo care

Thursday, May 11, 2017 - 10:08

Isabelle, Shanna, Sylvie and Sounithra are four moms to premature babies currently hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Children’s. We asked them if we could photograph them holding their newborns skin-to-skin to highlight Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, celebrated today, on May 15th.

Our goal twofold: first, to illustrate the different ways families practice kangaroo care or skin-to-skin holding, even while in hospital; and second, to offer these courageous women the newborn photoshoot they never had the chance to enjoy. The result captures the intimate calmness of a beautiful moment between parent and child, despite being in hospital. 

Isabelle holds her newborn twins, Elie and Ana, born at 26 weeks in this beautiful photo. She says she practices kangaroo care because she sees firsthand just how helpful it is for her girls.
“Sometimes I notice they can be pretty agitated when I first arrive. Practicing Kangaroo Care calms them down automatically,” she says. “It allows us to bond even though we’re spending so much time in hospital.”
Having given birth to her daughter, Saniya at just 26 weeks, Shanna says she practices Kangaroo Care for 3 to 4 hours a day in the NICU.
“When she is lying on me, it feels like she’s still part of me,” she says. “When I hold her, it reassures me that even though she’s premature, she’s here and she’s okay.”
Baby Émeraudes came into the world at 25.5 weeks, requiring hospitalization in the Children’s NICU for many weeks. Her mother, Sylvie, says she makes Kangaroo Care part of her daily routine with her daughter because she sees the immediate benefits it provides to her daughter. “It immediately calms her,” she says.
Baby William came into the world at 28 weeks, and is pictured here with his mom, Sounithtra, who says she practices Kangaroo Care because of the health benefits it provides to her son, but also because it helps them bond. “It’s such a nice moment to have between just the two of us,” she says. “To just be focusing on me and him, despite being in the hospital environment…it’s really nice.”