A premature baby is any child born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. They can miss out on some or even most of their third trimester development and may need special care at the hospital for some time after birth. This can get very expensive, and while extremely premature babies can be cared for well enough to survive and thrive in most developed societies today, this wasn’t always the case, nor is it the case at many developing world hospitals now. Kangaroo care was developed in Bogota, Columbia, in the 1970s, through a combination of desperation, necessity, and marsupial inspiration.

Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care, including extended use of incubators, but that isn’t always available. So, doctors in Colombia taught mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young.

Give premature babies kangaroo care to promote parent-child bonding and overall wellbeing.

Kangaroo care with mum and/or dad is extremely important for a premature baby. Trained volunteers are sometimes involved. The World Health Organisation has defined the complete hospital practice of kangaroo care, also known as kangaroo mother care (or KMC), as early, continuous, and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between a mother and a premature baby; exclusive breastfeeding or breast milk feeding; early discharge after hospital-initiated KMC with continuation at home; and adequate support and follow-up for parents at home. This fascinating technique was developed, in part, through the desperation of paediatricians working in an underfunded, overcrowded neonatal unit. Edgar Rey Sanabria and Héctor Martínez-Gómez had a hunch about marsupials. In 1978, Sanabria read a paper about how newborn baby kangaroos, born bald and very premature, receive thermal regulation in their mother’s pouch and nourishment from her nipple until they are strong enough to survive outside. With premature baby death rates spiralling and some traumatised mothers abandoning their newborns without ever touching them, he decided to trial Kangaroo Mother Care in the institute where he worked in Bogota. There is now a dedicated KMC unit at the San Ignacio Hospital in the city, and kangaroo care's proven benefits are enjoyed in neonatal units around the world. If your baby is well enough, the nurses will support you in learning the technique, which simply involves putting your baby down the front of your top in a firm, upright position and cuddling them skin-to-skin as you sit or walk around.

Kangaroo care is great for bonding and will help your baby settle and slow their pulse. Some units have a bandeau top to support your baby in this position (dad can wear it too!), and if your baby needs tubes or wires attached to them for medical reasons, the nurses may tape them to you to help them stay put. In general, however, this is something only a baby’s parents can do and will help give you confidence with them and make you feel closer as a family.

Try hand containment when you’re unable to keep a premature baby close enough to the chest for kangaroo care.

Sometimes, when your baby is very ill, you are not able to cuddle them to your chest. You can still hold and soothe them with your hands. Hand containment is an effective way of keeping your baby’s body tucked. It is sometimes called hand hugging or hand swaddling and involves placing gentle pressure on the arms, legs, head, and/or bottom. With your baby lying on their back, put one hand gently on the head and the other gently on the tummy or around the feet. This works as a bonding exercise, and you may be allowed to do it to calm them when they are undergoing something stressful.

What is kangaroo care for premature babies?

Unii looks at kangaroo care, hand containment and other touch-based ways to support a premature baby's health and development.