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It’s long been known that touch is an integral part of baby’s development. For premature babies, it’s even more important as it helps them to recover better from pain. Premature babies are poked, prodded, stuck with needles and generally go through a lot of medical interventions. In a study done by a team in McGill University School of Nursing in Montreal that focused on preemies, those who were cuddled tightly against their mother’s bare skin, known as kangaroo mother care position, seemed to be more comfortable faster than those just swaddled in blankets.

The team studied 61 preterm babies born between 28 and 31 weeks. Half were assigned the kangaroo mother care position, and half to the usual treatment of being swaddled in an incubator. Before a heel lance procedure, where the heel is poked with a needle, the kangaroo mother care babies were held tightly for 15 minutes. After lancing, the babies’ grimaces, maximum heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation levels were studied, counted and measured. The experimental group had lower numbers in all the measurements. The team concluded that the experimental preemies recovered from the pain in 1.5 mins. versus the incubated/swaddled babies who took as long as 3 minutes, some taking even longer.

This is a welcome conclusion for parents, especially mothers, of preemies who are sometimes left to watch their babies in the sidelines, allowed only to grasp their babies through an incubator. For otherwise healthy babies with no serious complication, parents can be allowed to take an active participation in helping their babies heal and recover faster.

Tags: incubator, kangaroo mother care, preemies, premature babies