Kangaroo mother care: It worked for me

Jeanine Desatnik from Johannesburg had this to say about her experience of skin-on-skin contact with her premature baby:
“Having Liya on my chest and feeling her skin on my skin, helped her to remain calm and to grow, but did amazing things to my body, too. As soon as she was on me, my breasts would tingle and milk would just flow, which helped both of us.” Liya Ami was born at 28 weeks and weighed only 670g.

Due to the many complications after Liya’s birth, she had to be in an ICU open crib and with a nutrition drip, oxygen and feeding tubes, heart and temperature monitor wires – and at times, a blood transfusion tube attached to her. It was only after six weeks’ careful monitoring and treatment that she was stable enough for Jeanine to do KMC with Liya. Until this time, Liya’s parents were only allowed to touch her hands and feet. “After I knew I could have skin-to-skin contact with my baby I was overwhelmed and couldn’t wait to start,” says Jeanine

Liya was so tiny her mom was scared she might harm her however once she was on her skin she “felt a mix of joy, fear, love, closeness and the reality of motherhood. It was heart-rending to have a baby and only be able to look at her or just touch her hands and feet.” And Liya’s dad, Jorge, loved having the skin-on-skin contact too. “To be aware of her scent and her breathing and her tiny heartbeat was amazing. It felt as though I had entered an altered emotional state – woozy elation and euphoria, which took hours to wear off – I called it my marshmallow high.”

Liya is now five and a half months old and weighs 3.5kg and weighs the same as an average newborn. She has met all her milestones so far and has the strength of a 5-month-old. “Liya has the most wonderful disposition, always smiling and reacting to her surroundings,” says Jeanine.

By Ruth Rehbock

kangaroo mother care, bonding, development, premature/preemie, newborn, birth, baby, Ruth Rehbock