'The benefits are enormous and can be practiced even if the baby is in the NICU,' said a Trinidad and Tobago specialist about skin-to-skin contact in premature babies

Montevideo. November 17, 2022. There were tense moments in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago. "There was a very sick premature baby. It was a ventilated baby, less than 800 grams," says neonatologist Marlon Timothy, chairman of the National Neonatology Committee of Trinidad and Tobago.

"We were struggling to stabilize him. Since it was Mother's Day, and we have been encouraging Kangaroo Care in our country for some time, we encouraged the mother to hold him skin-to-skin. The baby reduced his oxygen needs by 50% when he was allowed to be skin-to-skin with his mother for one hour. The joy that all of us as staff and the mother experienced that day will remain etched in our memories."

As every November 17, since 2011, today marks World Prematurity Day. In the Americas region, around 1.2 million births occur prematurely. Premature babies require specialized attention and specific care to enable them to survive, grow and develop healthily. Complications of prematurity are the leading cause of death in the neonatal period and even in the first five years. The burden of disease and disability associated with complications of prematurity is estimated at a loss of 5 million disability-adjusted life years and premature death (DALYS).

This year, the theme of World Prematurity Day focuses on the promotion of skin-to-skin contact, a practice that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been promoting for the best development and to ensure a healthy and loving experience for both premature babies and their families.

An evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the follow-up of newborns at risk, developed by the Latin American Center for Perinatology - Women's Health and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR) recommends that parents or caregivers of newborns weighing less than 2,500 g should enter a kangaroo care program or be trained in the "skin-to-skin" technique, in order to increase weight gain, promote breastfeeding, and decrease the risk of death or serious infection or sepsis.

We spoke with neonatologist Marlon Timothy about skin-to-skin contact and the impact it has on premature babies and their families.

Timothy recalled that Kangaroo Care is a simple practice that is applied around the world in order to "help preterm and small babies stay warm, build maternal/paternal bonding, increase breast milk production, improve the well-being of the baby and boost maternal/paternal confidence."

In Trinidad and Tobago, Kangaroo Care was officially launched in 2019 by Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Port of Spain General Hospital. However, this practice has been in existence since 1970, having had its beginnings in Colombia and then expanding worldwide.

According to the chairman of the National Neonatal Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, "for the babies, the benefits are tremendous and can be practiced even if the baby is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on a monitor, with feeding tubes and intravenous fluid lines and even while on a ventilator. Kangaroo Care can stabilize a baby's heart rate, improving their breathing pattern, making breathing more regular, improve oxygen saturation levels, allows them to gain sleep time, experience more rapid weight gain, decrease crying, have more successful breastfeeding episodes and result in an earlier hospital discharge".

"As we celebrate World Prematurity Day in Trinidad and Tobago, we encourage all parents with babies presently in the Neonatal Units and even after discharge to promote and perform Kangaroo Care as the benefits to both the parents and the babies are priceless", he concluded.

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