Kangaroo Care for Newborns
Chapter from the book:
Altuner,
Y.
(ed.)
2024.
Women's Health, Pregnancy, and Neonatal Care in Health Sciences.
Synopsis
When a baby is born, he or she steps out of the dark and safe environment of the womb into a bright, cold and noisy world. This sudden change can cause the baby to have difficulty adapting to the outside world. It is therefore important that the baby is reunited with its mother as soon as possible. The naked skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby alleviates the baby's feelings of insecurity, coldness and anxiety, which has a positive effect on the baby's health. Kangaroo care is a type of postnatal care that involves skin-to-skin contact between the baby and the mother or father. This practice provides many benefits for both babies and parents, such as regulating body temperature, improving vital signs, increasing breastfeeding success, and facilitating parent-infant bonding. Providing both physical and psychological benefits, kangaroo care is a simple and safe method that can be applied immediately after birth and plays an important role in meeting the needs of the baby.