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Promoting Paternal Kangaroo Care

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Kangaroo care is the act of placing a neonate skin to skin with their mother or father. This care is commonly provided by mothers but can also be provided by fathers. Paternal kangaroo care offers many benefits for both the father and the neonate. By implementing this care, the opportunity for fathers to bond with their neonate is provided. This bonding experience is important as many neonates spend several weeks in the NICU. The time away from their neonate can be particularly stressful for the family. Kangaroo care provides a means for the father to provide care for his neonate during their time in the NICU. The benefits to the neonate include maintaining greater temperature stability, stabilized heart rate, and respirations within …show more content…

The articles express that the benefits for neonates receiving kangaroo care are great and this care is encouraged. I was pleased to find many articles that focused on the temperature stability of low birth weight neonates. The articles found that neonates who participated with kangaroo care experienced greater temperature stability then those who did not. According to Turnbull and Petty (2013), the mother or father maintains the neonates’ body temperature in a neutral thermal environment when performing kangaroo care. Another advantage to kangaroo care is that the parents experienced in reduction in their separation-dependent stress (Turnbull and Petty, 2013).
Several of the articles about kangaroo care focused on implementation. There is much research about the benefits but the number of neonates receiving this care is discouraging. The study of kangaroo care began many years ago but the information is not being utilized. Having the mother and newborn experience skin to skin, chest to chest contact was first studied in 1970 (Ludington-Hoe, 2011). The progress of implementing kangaroo care by nurses in the United States is a slow process. The slow progression is likely due to the lack of education and understanding of the benefits of kangaroo care. It is suggested that nurses be trained on the use of kangaroo care and how it can positively affect patient outcomes.
Many neonates are born extremely ill

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