Transcript: The Benefits of Kangaroo Care

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Newbies
The Benefits of Kangaroo Care

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: You may be familiar with the phrase skin-to-skin with mom and baby and that it is important but have you heard of Kangaroo Care? What is it and why is it important to your relationship with your baby? Today we are talking to Sejal Fichadia, CAPPA Certified Postpartum Doula, and you’re listening to Newbies.

[Theme Music/Intro]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Welcome to Newbies, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. Newbies if your online on the go support group, guiding new mothers with their baby’s first year. I'm your host Kristen Stratton. I'm also a Certified Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, and owner of In Due Season Doula Services.

If you haven’t already, please visit our website at www.newmommymedia.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter. You can also subscribe to our show through iTunes, so automatically get new episodes when they’re released. Sunny is here to tell us all about the ways you can participate in our show.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay. Hi everybody. We’d love to hear from our listeners. We believe the show is all about your guys, and so we want you to start contributing or continue to contribute to the show. There’s some great ways you can do that through the segments we have on out show. What are the ones I wanted to highlight here is something we’re calling “five minute birth stories”.

We all have birth stories and usually, we like to share them with people and so, we’ve created the segment. We can’t do like a whole episode on it for say but in five minutes or last, if you can share your birth story and some of the highlights, we would love to hear it and we’ll put those in future episodes when we release them.

Another idea would be, if you would ever have any comments or questions about the show or if you have ideas for different episodes you want us to do, we are all about listening and we’d love to get mailed from you guys. If you are interested in sending us email and letting us know what you think about the show, that’s fantastic. You can do all of this through our website at www.nemommymedia.com. There’s a contact link there so you can email us. Then, also, we have kind of a new way that we’re doing voicemail. You could always call us on the phone but another way that might be easier for some of you that really like using your computer, is through our website.

There’s a little grey banner on the side that says, send voice mail. When you click that, you can actually just leave the message through using your computer and the speakers and the microphone that’s on your computer, just kind of another alternative for you guys to get in touched with us. Check out those segments because they are really fun and we really enjoy it listening to them and hang on what you guys have to say.

KRISTEN STRATTON: All right, let’s meet our panelist.

BRITNEY: Hi, I'm Britney. I'm stay at home mom and I recently started a birth doula business. My Evonne little girl, she’s 11 months old.

RUTHY SLADDEN: Hi, I'm Ruthy Sladden. I am 29 and I own Mama Ruthie which is a postpartum support business. I'm a clinical lactation specialist and a postpartum doula. I do belly finding and sealing and presenting capsulation, so on and so forth. I have a five year old boy, two year old girl, and a six month girl.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And you also paint pregnant bellies.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And I paint pregnant bellies, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s so cool.

KRISTEN STRATTON: It’s beautiful.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Called the paint of heaven.

JESSIE: My name is Jessie. I'm 26. I'm a child birth educator and a doula. I have two little ones. My oldest, two and a half, she was a preemie, so this subject is close to my heart, and then, my youngest, my son is almost a year.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Great. Thanks for being on the show.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: So before we get started with today’s show, I found a news headline floating around the internet that I thought was interesting. Now, I need to preference this and say this did not take place in the U.S., okay, so before any mom like us, a coronary or something over this. Don’t worry but this was not in the U.S. but it is something that we at least if you’ve given birth in a hospital setting that you may have some experience with and I gave birth to four babies in a hospital setting.
The situation is this, this happened in Malaysia, okay. It was at a private medical center, and basically, it’s kind of like those movies you see where babies get swapped in the hospital because they’re not identified properly.

This is what kills me, one of the couples whose baby was switched basically. It literarily says, it says, last Tuesday, couple were shocked when they received from the medical center informing them that their newborn was swapped with another couple’s baby. It says that the baby was a couple’s fifth child. It was born at right about the same time but they were told of it, five hours after taking their baby home.

So the baby at their home whit this couple that really wasn’t their parent for five hours before they found out, and it’s just kind of obviously, this is being handled. There’s an investigation and they’re making recommendations now on how to make sure this doesn’t happen, but it reminded me of giving birth here in the U.S., and how … They’re very strict about this kind of stuff. I think my babies had like an alarm on their like ankle or whatever.

KRISTEN STRATTON: The Baby LoJack, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: And they were always comparing my bracelet to their bracelets and I mean, I'm really glad that they do that but it kind of made me feel like a criminal. I'm like, I'm not trying to steal a baby, didn’t she is my baby? Didn’t she just cut that baby out of me? Come on. But anyways, wanted to get you guys this you know, thoughts on this and if you have any personal experience with giving birth in hospitals and the whole tracking system.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Well, my first two were born at a naval hospital and they’ve really took this seriously. I don’t know if they have messed it up once before, I don’t know. But yeah, they have the little like magnetic bracelet on the ankle which they called Baby LoJack, so I didn’t come up with that myself. But yeah, they seemed thing like they had a serial number on my bracelet and on the baby’s bracelet. Baby had two bracelets on, one on the ankle, one on the wrist.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay, okay.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Matching serials. Anytime they had to do anything with the baby, which was really was matching babies on the room with me double. They’d be like, okay what numbers on your bracelet? Okay, compare with that. But then, one time, when we were trying to like put socks on our baby to get ready to go home like when we were beginning discharge, we accidently bump the Baby LoJack off and the nurse came running into the room because what it also does was automatically lock down the whole maternity ward like it locks their door shot and everyone goes with their stations because it’s so tough and alarms so that no one can kidnap your baby basically. I was little embarrassed by that.

SUNNY GAULT: Well, did they have like some sort of monitor something over there?

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, because I don’t know the technology behind it but I'm sure there was a way to know which room specifically went often.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So they had a nurse run in our room and then my husband saw it. I didn’t’ see it but he said there are nurses or core men at each exit, making sure that no one can come in or go out.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s organized. That’s the system, right?

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, I'm glad it’s organized but I was like it’s my baby. Sorry, about that.

SUNNY GAULT: Right, right. Anybody else have experience with this?

BRITNEY: I think the rooming in helped you know, like if she’s not in the nursery, she’s going to be with me.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

BRITNEY: So don’t think it’d be easy to mix her up if she didn’t actually leave my room.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s true.

BRITNEY: But I did go visit a friend her in San Diego, one of the hospitals here, and there was a security guard right by the doors for the maternity floor, and you actually can’t use the main elevator doors to get off at that floor, on the maternity floor. You have to use a separate elevator door so that you’re not right by the exit to the hospital.

SUNNY GAULT: Wow.

BRITNEY: Yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: This is elaborating you guys, really put some thought into this, anybody else?

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, so when you have a NICU baby, obviously, that really complicates things, so there are bracelets upon bracelets upon bracelets.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And in order just to get into the NICU ward if you will, you have to get like scanned in and some printed. They have a very elaborate system for that. And then before you can go into your baby’s room, our bracelets have to get like double checked and scanned in and any time your leave, then the whole process starts over again, you know, like just getting a quick snack, you’re like I just want to get something to eat, right?

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And then you got to like do this whole big long process. But it actually is you know, for a mom who couldn’t be with her baby all the time, I mean, it was a hassle but it made us feel really comfortable because our little baby is in this room and all kinds to be barracking them wholes, you know.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, and our agreement between my husband and myself was always, if anything happens where I can’t be with the baby, you go with the baby like even if the baby is like even if the baby is leaving to get a hearing test or you know, while baby check, like you go and stay with the baby. I mean, I don’t know on Malaysia what the men’s role is.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, and then this article doesn’t go into detail.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, so you know, maybe perhaps they don’t even have a support person that’s with them, the entire hospital say but that was at least our kind of agreement together.

SUNNY GAULT: All right. Thanks for your opinions ladies.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Today on Newbies support discussing Kangaroo Care. Our expert today is Sejal Fichadia, CAPPA Certified Postpartum Doula, Trained Lactation Educator and a certified in Infant Tummy Time and Kangaroo Care. Thanks so much for joining us here Sejal, welcome to the show.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Thank you for having me.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Sejal, what is Kangaroo Care and where did the term come from?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Kangaroo Care is when you hold newborn diaper, he can be in the diaper or without the diaper on the mom’s chest. Their chest, it should be a direct chest to chest contact between the mom and the baby or the dad and the baby or any other caregiver on the baby if mom and dad are absent.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And where did that term Kangaroo Care?

SEJAL FICHADIA: The term actually came from Bogota Colombia. There were two doctors who saw that babies who were pre-term where held in the kangaroo position like a marsupial would hold the baby in a pouch by the parent, and they were stabilizing much better than other babies who are not. They saw that the care that was provided was like a kangaroo baby, being held in the pouch by the mother, and hence the name Kangaroo Care came about.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So is there a difference between skin-to-skin and Kangaroo Care or are they the same but with just different terms?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Well, technically, there are the differences because skin-to-skin could be contact between the mother and the baby directly on skin whether it’s at the chest skin or cheek skin or by breastfeeding. You know, when we are breastfeeding, we’re always in skin contact with the baby if the baby is not wearing anything, but kangaroo care, specifically tells you that your baby should be between your breast and the nerves that turn on only in response to direct ventral falling back with your baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: How soon should a mom begin Kangaroo Care with her infant?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Mom should begin right after birth. They should continue to do Kangaroo Care in the first hour after birth, uninterrupted. There should be no separation from the mother and the baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Can Kangaroo Care still be as beneficial to a mom who is separated from her baby due to an NICU state or a cesarean birth?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely, so it is specifically absolute for a babies who are in the NICU or even babies who were born with C-sections because those babies have better chance of getting their health being turn around with Kangaroo Care than being in an incubator. Even ventilated baby who are at youngest, you know, 28 weeks old can go in Kangaroo Care, and now, the new research is saying that even 22 week-ers or have them evaluate to Kangaroo Care in the NICU.

KRISTEN STRATTON: What are some of the biological changes that happen between mom and baby when Kangaroo Care is being used?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Kangaroo Care basically entails three things, it entails the direct skin-to-skin contact within the mom and the baby, and then it includes kangaroo nutrition which is breastfeeding and then it includes kangaroo discharge which is when the baby is discharged, the baby is still doing skin-to-skin with the mom for up to six weeks. The biological changes that happen is that the babies temperature is much regulated. They are more immune to infections. They have a better chance of getting the optimum nutrition which is through breast milk.

There are so many other benefits like their heart rate is much stable. They grow better. They sleep better. They breathe better, and their motor development is improved. So this happens while the baby is in Kangaroo Care. The recommendation is actually you should do Kangaroo Care for up to the first six weeks, for about two hours every day.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And panelists, where you able to use Kangaroo Care with your baby doing this first few hours, days, weeks?

BRITNEY: I was. I wasn’t able to do it with my daughter because I wasn’t familiar with the concept but with my son who is nine now I did it a lot.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And how about you Jessie?

JESSIE: Yeah, so my daughter was born eight weeks early, so we didn’t get to do skin-to-skin or Kangaroo Care right when she was born. I had to wait until she was stable to hold her. It is honestly I think the difference between her life being here today, it made a really big difference for her. When we did skin-to-skin, I did it when she was two days old. It was the first time she opened her eyes when we did skin-to-skin, and the bonding was amazing like that made such a difference being an NICU mom is really hard, so all NICU moms out there, you’re doing great.

It is hard and finding ways to connect with your baby because you can’t do all those new mommy things, you can’t typically breastfeed right from the get go and you can’t typically just pick your baby and hold them and put on a new wincey because they have wires everywhere. They’re sets go down or up and Kangaroo Care helps stabilize all of that. So the more Kangaroo Care, we did the better. In our experience, it actually helped me with breastfeeding. It’s really hard to sustain milk supply, and having her on my skin as much as I could help keep my mouth, I did lose my mouth twice, and so it actually helped me be able to re-lactate.

And then on a personal know, I feel like Kangaroo Care does a lot of healing, for a mom that’s just had a baby whether you’ve had it cesarean or you know, it was like me and it was just unexpected preemie and you’re in a whole new world of new terms and doctors, and it’s very overwhelming. It is such a great time to just set and be intentional, be in the moment with your baby and not in the past of what could I have done to change the situation or what am I going to do to make up for what I didn’t do, you know, just in the moment now. I can love my baby and this is what I can’t do. It’s one thing that I could do well. I can hold my baby, you know.

I may not be able to produce as much milk or I may not be able to change her you know, into a new outfit. I can’t get her breathing again. I can’t you know, there are lots of I can’t but I can hold her and that bond has lasted a lifetime and it was something that my husband could participate into you know, for him, it was very scary and he was kind of removed in the sense because he didn’t carry her in his stomach and birth her and he didn’t have to pump and so it was like, where do I fit in this equation, and so for him, the bond they have now, she’s two and a half, and the bond they have now is just amazing, and I know I accredit that a lot to Kangaroo Care.

So I encourage you. It may be painful. It may be really actually kind of hard to do and I think people don’t talk about that but it can be painful. There’s little tiny life. My daughter was three pounds and fits in my husband’s palm. And so, when you’re holding that tiny, it brings up a lot emotionally, but its good. It’s good to touch your baby. It’s good to hold your baby, does good things for you. It definitely helped me. I had postpartum depression really bad and every time I was away from her, I pollinate majorly, and so having that skin-to-skin, I’ve decided after a month of really bad postpartum depression.

I was going to roomed in the hospital, and they didn’t really want me to do that, and so my husband and I instead of mats, we literally slept on the floor in her room for three months that she was on the hospital, and that’s when it started to turn around with that postpartum depression of breast milk. All will get better and easier even if it’s not perfect with Kangaroo Care, it does bring a lot of healing, and healing for your baby, your baby doesn’t … You know, there’s sets in all of that is all erratic and it calms their system as well. So that’s my experience. I think it’s really, really important thing.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Wow. Thank you.

JESSIE: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Thank you so much, amazing.

RUTHY SLADDEN: With my first baby, in retrospect to have some you know, some postpartum, baby blues, I had a hard time bonding with him. I had an episiotomy and I think the pain medication, they put me on, was just, I'm really sensitive to stuff, so I was just, take me about two weeks to be able to take care of myself with the loneliness, like tiny infant, like when I think about the first couple weeks with him, the most positive I think about is sitting in my glider after I’ve nursed him, and that feeling of that little head on your chest. So we call that dear heart, that’s your heat. That’s where only the most precious people go, you know, that’s where your lover goes, that’s where your children go.

You only embrace your closest friends close to your chest. I think that that probably did a lot to keep me from sleeping into a more serious postpartum depression situation, and I think that you know, that’s like the warmest part of my early postpartum with him, was having him in that spot right there. It’s great for like you’re saying breastfeeding because it generates oxytocin which is what initiates your let down with milk. It’s the love hormone, it’s the boding hormone. I think all of that is really, really helpful. It was very positive for us in a much more normal less extreme situation.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Well, it’s beneficial for all moms and babies.

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, totally.

BRITNEY: I did more skin-to-skin than Kangaroo Care with my baby just because when my milk came in, I felt like the support actually made me a little bit more comfortable to have something on my chest. But with the skin-to-skin and I do have postpartum depression, so having her there in just drinking in that baby smell, like on my worst day, it’s just taking a nice deep breath and rubbing my cheek on her fussy little soft baby head and it just brings the since of common, a since of peace over me. My husband did more Kangaroo Care but I think it was really just an excuse if he could play video games longer because the baby was sleeping there.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So Kangaroo Care is also convenient.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

BRITNEY: But he still until this day, he still loves it when she fall asleep. She’s not really a coddler, she likes to just play and be active and so loves it when she falls asleep on his chest and he used to play more video games.

KRISTEN STRATTON: I’d love what she said, Jessie about at being healing because I remember with third, he was born not doing well. He had it of course for three and then five and then stayed at five and so, he went to NICU. I just remember aching like just aching for him and then they brought him back to me like I had a bunch of people talking to me and then, all room just went silent to me just like there’s still … her muscle still moving but I didn’t want anything other than my baby on my chest, and then actually my husband actually has a picture of the minute he’s on my chest and I was just like, just a sieve relief of having him there and just knowing that he was okay and that he was alive and being grateful and then she’s so healing to just have him in that position, so I loved that you brought that point because it’s so true, it’s so true.

When we come back, we will continue our discussion about how Kangaroo Care can be beneficial for the breastfeeding relationship between mom and baby. We’ll be right back.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Welcome back to the show. We’re talking with Sejal Fichadia about Kangaroo Care and breastfeeding. Sejal, how does Kangaroo Care benefit the breastfeeding relationship between a mom and her new baby?

SEJAL FICHADIA: So Kangaroo Care benefits of breastfeeding relationship by releasing that oxytocin like one of the moms on the panels said, you know, that oxytocin release helps with the let down of the milk, and another thing that it also does is that when babies are on their mom’s chest, they are already so close to their food source that they do not have to make a lot of effort to wake up and find and learn that say shoulder calories from being extended and also, the fearing of calm and connectedness that comes with breastfeeding, lets the mom relaxed and enjoy breastfeeding instead of being worried about were her baby would when she wants to breastfeed. So I’ve feel like that oxytocin which is the power of love hormones is very important. It also kind of send the fatty milk in your breast forward and brings the active portion of your milk and it’s trying to reserve more milk so that a baby gets the fatty milk first. So 20 minutes of Kangaroo Care even before any breastfeeding session will help the mom have a better relief of oxytocin leading to a better let down and the baby is getting highest calorie milk.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And I would imagine that would also make it easier for mom to notice the early hunger cues in baby.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely, so the baby is basically staying in the kitchen so the mom can feed them.

KRISTEN STRATTON: I love that.

SEJAL FICHADIA: And the baby can eat whenever they want to.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, open 24/7.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Perfect. Could a mom who is choosing to or who has to use formula still benefit from Kangaroo Care?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely. The benefits of Kangaroo Care are not just limited to breastfeeding, as I mentioned earlier that you know, the temperature regulation has improved, baby don’t undergo any cold stress. They are larger breath volume, also you know, the best thing about feeding a baby even if it is formula while the baby is in skin-to-skin contact with mother is that the oxytocin is still release and the mom still benefits on those relaxing effect of oxytocin. They also have been shown to have more mothering behaviors when they have received Kangaroo Care, so it’s not just above the food, it is so much more than food. And I feel like those babies who are giving formula, needed even more.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Is Kangaroo Care something that dad or partner could do to help bond with their baby?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Most certainly. Dad can do it. In fact I have written a blog post about it on my website on fathers and their feathers, and it came about from a question that was asked to me about a dad that “my husband doesn’t like to do skin-to-skin contact because he feels like the hair on his chest is going to bothered the baby,” and I have to tell them that it doesn’t matter what the father’s hairy chest looks like, the baby is going to love being there. Even when fathers, when they say I cannot birth and I cannot breastfeed, the way to kind of bond with your baby is through kangaroo father care.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And to our panelist, did your husband or partner use Kangaroo Care with your baby?

BRITNEY: He did for my son. For my daughter, it was like 12 years ago and we didn’t quite realize the importance of it. I wish I had. That I feel regret but one of the reasons I became certified in it is because I want all moms and dads know that this is something that works and you don’t need any expensive devices and gadgets do the best care to your baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And what about you Ruthy?

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, I know, I can remember my husband definitely, he would game too. Oh I'm like, you sleep with three hours, what have you been doing, oh, please, just been hanging out, playing high low, whatever. The one thing with the chest here is there were obviously instances where they get their little saggy fingers round up in chest hair and they do get … That’s start to elaborate now and then but it’s kind of something you tackle about, so you just, hey, it’s an excuse to hold their hands so they don’t put your chest here, I guess, more bonding.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yes. What about you?

JESSIE: Yeah, I think it’s one of the greatest things that as a husband, you can do the bond with your baby especially giving mamma break. She has that baby attached to her all the time and honestly the nicest thing my husband could do was give me a snack and take the baby. So Kangaroo Care went along way. For our NICU baby, we really felt like it helped us bond and keep her healthy and going. We continued for her first year of life doing it really regularly, and then, when our son was born, my husband could not wait to do skin-to-skin. He was so excited about it because he knew the benefits of it and what it looks like. You know, it’s nice when you have those late night feelings and your husband gets the baby snuggles him and everybody goes back to sleep peacefully, so yeah, I think it’s a really beneficial thing for dads too.

SEJAL FICHADIA: So you know, dad also have the exact thing neuro factors as the mom does in their brains when they do skin-to-skin contact and Kangaroo Care for their babies and it is just that the hormones that they have in your transmitters, they are in different concentration but they have a hormone called Rezo Preston that I know decreases their blood pressure, so it’s really good for the dad health too.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And Sejal, are Kangaroo Care and Tummy Time related?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Well, they are related in the sense that you know, both of them happen you know, the both skin or tummy time is the first two to three weeks, you know, you are doing tummy time on your parent’s chest. That’s what I am trained in as a Tummy Time tutor that the first two to three weeks, when the baby is outside the womb, they have to be on the parent’s chest and that will qualify as Tummy Time, and eventually, you know, as a baby girls, you want to put them and give them a lot of floor time and a lot of movement which kind of improve the breastfeeding, which improve the nervous system function. It also improves how they develop in terms of their motor development. It helps them with any of the postural imbalances from birth, you know, how babies are pushed up inside us, so it works that that is Tummy Time to me, but Kangaroo Care itself is definitely you are on your tummy but you are on the mother’s chest and you your chest as a baby and direct contact with the mother’s chest.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Thank you so much Sejal, and our lovely panelist for chatting with us today about Kangaroo Care. For our Newbies Club members, our conversation will continue after the end of the show as Sejal will give advice to tired moms whose babies will only sleep with being held. For more information about the Newbies Club, please visit our website at www.newmommymedia.com.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: All right, it’s time for “Baby Oops” story where you can share your funny stories that’ve happen with your babies when she brought him home from the hospital or wherever you delivered your baby. There are some really funny ones. I love reading this, so this one is hysterical. This comes from Lora. She’s basically giving us a play by play on what happened when they discharged her and her family from the hospital.

She say; “The On Call doctor didn’t realized that she was on call that day, and evidently was out of touch with everyone. So, after the hospital had called her a billion times and me paging her, she finally showed up at 7pm to discharge us. Then once she’d given the okay, the nurse comes in over to go over the discharge stuff with us, and all the did entails, and tells the nurse at the desk to take Katelyn’s bracelet out of the system so she could cut it off without setting the alarm off”. You guys know where this is going, right? “So we go through all of the paper work and like 10 minutes later, she cuts Katelyn’s band off. The alarm goes off, locking all the doors on the floor, turning off all of the elevators on our floor, 30 minutes later, they get everything unlocked and all of that we’re finally able to go home”.

“It was probably 9:30 at night by the time we got home and we were supposed to have be home by noon”. Well, at least we know that the system works, right? Lora, so I guess that’s one good thing that came out of this. So if you have a funny Baby “Oops” story you would like to share with us, please send it to us. You can go on our website at www.newmommymedia.com, send it through the contact link or send us a voicemail strait to the website. You don’t even have to pick up a phone anymore, just click on that banner on the side that says send voice mail, and you can just use the microphone on your computer, send it that way. So again, thanks Lora, and we hope to get more of these Baby “Oops” stories because seriously, a laugh might bought off every time I read them. Thanks so much.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: That’s wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Newbies.

Don’t forget to check out our sister show:
• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Parent Savers for parents with infants and toddlers
• Boob Group for moms who breastfeed and
• Twin Talks for parents with multiples.

This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy you way.

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. The information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. While such information and materials are believed to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line-up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series, or if you’re a business, or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com.

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Episode Transcript

Newbies
The Benefits of Kangaroo Care

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: You may be familiar with the phrase skin-to-skin with mom and baby and that it is important but have you heard of Kangaroo Care? What is it and why is it important to your relationship with your baby? Today we are talking to Sejal Fichadia, CAPPA Certified Postpartum Doula, and you’re listening to Newbies.

[Theme Music/Intro]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Welcome to Newbies, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. Newbies if your online on the go support group, guiding new mothers with their baby’s first year. I'm your host Kristen Stratton. I'm also a Certified Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, and owner of In Due Season Doula Services.

If you haven’t already, please visit our website at www.newmommymedia.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter. You can also subscribe to our show through iTunes, so automatically get new episodes when they’re released. Sunny is here to tell us all about the ways you can participate in our show.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay. Hi everybody. We’d love to hear from our listeners. We believe the show is all about your guys, and so we want you to start contributing or continue to contribute to the show. There’s some great ways you can do that through the segments we have on out show. What are the ones I wanted to highlight here is something we’re calling “five minute birth stories”.

We all have birth stories and usually, we like to share them with people and so, we’ve created the segment. We can’t do like a whole episode on it for say but in five minutes or last, if you can share your birth story and some of the highlights, we would love to hear it and we’ll put those in future episodes when we release them.

Another idea would be, if you would ever have any comments or questions about the show or if you have ideas for different episodes you want us to do, we are all about listening and we’d love to get mailed from you guys. If you are interested in sending us email and letting us know what you think about the show, that’s fantastic. You can do all of this through our website at www.nemommymedia.com. There’s a contact link there so you can email us. Then, also, we have kind of a new way that we’re doing voicemail. You could always call us on the phone but another way that might be easier for some of you that really like using your computer, is through our website.

There’s a little grey banner on the side that says, send voice mail. When you click that, you can actually just leave the message through using your computer and the speakers and the microphone that’s on your computer, just kind of another alternative for you guys to get in touched with us. Check out those segments because they are really fun and we really enjoy it listening to them and hang on what you guys have to say.

KRISTEN STRATTON: All right, let’s meet our panelist.

BRITNEY: Hi, I'm Britney. I'm stay at home mom and I recently started a birth doula business. My Evonne little girl, she’s 11 months old.

RUTHY SLADDEN: Hi, I'm Ruthy Sladden. I am 29 and I own Mama Ruthie which is a postpartum support business. I'm a clinical lactation specialist and a postpartum doula. I do belly finding and sealing and presenting capsulation, so on and so forth. I have a five year old boy, two year old girl, and a six month girl.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And you also paint pregnant bellies.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And I paint pregnant bellies, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s so cool.

KRISTEN STRATTON: It’s beautiful.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Called the paint of heaven.

JESSIE: My name is Jessie. I'm 26. I'm a child birth educator and a doula. I have two little ones. My oldest, two and a half, she was a preemie, so this subject is close to my heart, and then, my youngest, my son is almost a year.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Great. Thanks for being on the show.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: So before we get started with today’s show, I found a news headline floating around the internet that I thought was interesting. Now, I need to preference this and say this did not take place in the U.S., okay, so before any mom like us, a coronary or something over this. Don’t worry but this was not in the U.S. but it is something that we at least if you’ve given birth in a hospital setting that you may have some experience with and I gave birth to four babies in a hospital setting.
The situation is this, this happened in Malaysia, okay. It was at a private medical center, and basically, it’s kind of like those movies you see where babies get swapped in the hospital because they’re not identified properly.

This is what kills me, one of the couples whose baby was switched basically. It literarily says, it says, last Tuesday, couple were shocked when they received from the medical center informing them that their newborn was swapped with another couple’s baby. It says that the baby was a couple’s fifth child. It was born at right about the same time but they were told of it, five hours after taking their baby home.

So the baby at their home whit this couple that really wasn’t their parent for five hours before they found out, and it’s just kind of obviously, this is being handled. There’s an investigation and they’re making recommendations now on how to make sure this doesn’t happen, but it reminded me of giving birth here in the U.S., and how … They’re very strict about this kind of stuff. I think my babies had like an alarm on their like ankle or whatever.

KRISTEN STRATTON: The Baby LoJack, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: And they were always comparing my bracelet to their bracelets and I mean, I'm really glad that they do that but it kind of made me feel like a criminal. I'm like, I'm not trying to steal a baby, didn’t she is my baby? Didn’t she just cut that baby out of me? Come on. But anyways, wanted to get you guys this you know, thoughts on this and if you have any personal experience with giving birth in hospitals and the whole tracking system.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Well, my first two were born at a naval hospital and they’ve really took this seriously. I don’t know if they have messed it up once before, I don’t know. But yeah, they have the little like magnetic bracelet on the ankle which they called Baby LoJack, so I didn’t come up with that myself. But yeah, they seemed thing like they had a serial number on my bracelet and on the baby’s bracelet. Baby had two bracelets on, one on the ankle, one on the wrist.

SUNNY GAULT: Okay, okay.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Matching serials. Anytime they had to do anything with the baby, which was really was matching babies on the room with me double. They’d be like, okay what numbers on your bracelet? Okay, compare with that. But then, one time, when we were trying to like put socks on our baby to get ready to go home like when we were beginning discharge, we accidently bump the Baby LoJack off and the nurse came running into the room because what it also does was automatically lock down the whole maternity ward like it locks their door shot and everyone goes with their stations because it’s so tough and alarms so that no one can kidnap your baby basically. I was little embarrassed by that.

SUNNY GAULT: Well, did they have like some sort of monitor something over there?

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, because I don’t know the technology behind it but I'm sure there was a way to know which room specifically went often.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So they had a nurse run in our room and then my husband saw it. I didn’t’ see it but he said there are nurses or core men at each exit, making sure that no one can come in or go out.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s organized. That’s the system, right?

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, I'm glad it’s organized but I was like it’s my baby. Sorry, about that.

SUNNY GAULT: Right, right. Anybody else have experience with this?

BRITNEY: I think the rooming in helped you know, like if she’s not in the nursery, she’s going to be with me.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

BRITNEY: So don’t think it’d be easy to mix her up if she didn’t actually leave my room.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s true.

BRITNEY: But I did go visit a friend her in San Diego, one of the hospitals here, and there was a security guard right by the doors for the maternity floor, and you actually can’t use the main elevator doors to get off at that floor, on the maternity floor. You have to use a separate elevator door so that you’re not right by the exit to the hospital.

SUNNY GAULT: Wow.

BRITNEY: Yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: This is elaborating you guys, really put some thought into this, anybody else?

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, so when you have a NICU baby, obviously, that really complicates things, so there are bracelets upon bracelets upon bracelets.

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And in order just to get into the NICU ward if you will, you have to get like scanned in and some printed. They have a very elaborate system for that. And then before you can go into your baby’s room, our bracelets have to get like double checked and scanned in and any time your leave, then the whole process starts over again, you know, like just getting a quick snack, you’re like I just want to get something to eat, right?

SUNNY GAULT: Right.

RUTHY SLADDEN: And then you got to like do this whole big long process. But it actually is you know, for a mom who couldn’t be with her baby all the time, I mean, it was a hassle but it made us feel really comfortable because our little baby is in this room and all kinds to be barracking them wholes, you know.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, and our agreement between my husband and myself was always, if anything happens where I can’t be with the baby, you go with the baby like even if the baby is like even if the baby is leaving to get a hearing test or you know, while baby check, like you go and stay with the baby. I mean, I don’t know on Malaysia what the men’s role is.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, and then this article doesn’t go into detail.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, so you know, maybe perhaps they don’t even have a support person that’s with them, the entire hospital say but that was at least our kind of agreement together.

SUNNY GAULT: All right. Thanks for your opinions ladies.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Today on Newbies support discussing Kangaroo Care. Our expert today is Sejal Fichadia, CAPPA Certified Postpartum Doula, Trained Lactation Educator and a certified in Infant Tummy Time and Kangaroo Care. Thanks so much for joining us here Sejal, welcome to the show.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Thank you for having me.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Sejal, what is Kangaroo Care and where did the term come from?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Kangaroo Care is when you hold newborn diaper, he can be in the diaper or without the diaper on the mom’s chest. Their chest, it should be a direct chest to chest contact between the mom and the baby or the dad and the baby or any other caregiver on the baby if mom and dad are absent.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And where did that term Kangaroo Care?

SEJAL FICHADIA: The term actually came from Bogota Colombia. There were two doctors who saw that babies who were pre-term where held in the kangaroo position like a marsupial would hold the baby in a pouch by the parent, and they were stabilizing much better than other babies who are not. They saw that the care that was provided was like a kangaroo baby, being held in the pouch by the mother, and hence the name Kangaroo Care came about.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So is there a difference between skin-to-skin and Kangaroo Care or are they the same but with just different terms?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Well, technically, there are the differences because skin-to-skin could be contact between the mother and the baby directly on skin whether it’s at the chest skin or cheek skin or by breastfeeding. You know, when we are breastfeeding, we’re always in skin contact with the baby if the baby is not wearing anything, but kangaroo care, specifically tells you that your baby should be between your breast and the nerves that turn on only in response to direct ventral falling back with your baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: How soon should a mom begin Kangaroo Care with her infant?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Mom should begin right after birth. They should continue to do Kangaroo Care in the first hour after birth, uninterrupted. There should be no separation from the mother and the baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Can Kangaroo Care still be as beneficial to a mom who is separated from her baby due to an NICU state or a cesarean birth?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely, so it is specifically absolute for a babies who are in the NICU or even babies who were born with C-sections because those babies have better chance of getting their health being turn around with Kangaroo Care than being in an incubator. Even ventilated baby who are at youngest, you know, 28 weeks old can go in Kangaroo Care, and now, the new research is saying that even 22 week-ers or have them evaluate to Kangaroo Care in the NICU.

KRISTEN STRATTON: What are some of the biological changes that happen between mom and baby when Kangaroo Care is being used?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Kangaroo Care basically entails three things, it entails the direct skin-to-skin contact within the mom and the baby, and then it includes kangaroo nutrition which is breastfeeding and then it includes kangaroo discharge which is when the baby is discharged, the baby is still doing skin-to-skin with the mom for up to six weeks. The biological changes that happen is that the babies temperature is much regulated. They are more immune to infections. They have a better chance of getting the optimum nutrition which is through breast milk.

There are so many other benefits like their heart rate is much stable. They grow better. They sleep better. They breathe better, and their motor development is improved. So this happens while the baby is in Kangaroo Care. The recommendation is actually you should do Kangaroo Care for up to the first six weeks, for about two hours every day.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And panelists, where you able to use Kangaroo Care with your baby doing this first few hours, days, weeks?

BRITNEY: I was. I wasn’t able to do it with my daughter because I wasn’t familiar with the concept but with my son who is nine now I did it a lot.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And how about you Jessie?

JESSIE: Yeah, so my daughter was born eight weeks early, so we didn’t get to do skin-to-skin or Kangaroo Care right when she was born. I had to wait until she was stable to hold her. It is honestly I think the difference between her life being here today, it made a really big difference for her. When we did skin-to-skin, I did it when she was two days old. It was the first time she opened her eyes when we did skin-to-skin, and the bonding was amazing like that made such a difference being an NICU mom is really hard, so all NICU moms out there, you’re doing great.

It is hard and finding ways to connect with your baby because you can’t do all those new mommy things, you can’t typically breastfeed right from the get go and you can’t typically just pick your baby and hold them and put on a new wincey because they have wires everywhere. They’re sets go down or up and Kangaroo Care helps stabilize all of that. So the more Kangaroo Care, we did the better. In our experience, it actually helped me with breastfeeding. It’s really hard to sustain milk supply, and having her on my skin as much as I could help keep my mouth, I did lose my mouth twice, and so it actually helped me be able to re-lactate.

And then on a personal know, I feel like Kangaroo Care does a lot of healing, for a mom that’s just had a baby whether you’ve had it cesarean or you know, it was like me and it was just unexpected preemie and you’re in a whole new world of new terms and doctors, and it’s very overwhelming. It is such a great time to just set and be intentional, be in the moment with your baby and not in the past of what could I have done to change the situation or what am I going to do to make up for what I didn’t do, you know, just in the moment now. I can love my baby and this is what I can’t do. It’s one thing that I could do well. I can hold my baby, you know.

I may not be able to produce as much milk or I may not be able to change her you know, into a new outfit. I can’t get her breathing again. I can’t you know, there are lots of I can’t but I can hold her and that bond has lasted a lifetime and it was something that my husband could participate into you know, for him, it was very scary and he was kind of removed in the sense because he didn’t carry her in his stomach and birth her and he didn’t have to pump and so it was like, where do I fit in this equation, and so for him, the bond they have now, she’s two and a half, and the bond they have now is just amazing, and I know I accredit that a lot to Kangaroo Care.

So I encourage you. It may be painful. It may be really actually kind of hard to do and I think people don’t talk about that but it can be painful. There’s little tiny life. My daughter was three pounds and fits in my husband’s palm. And so, when you’re holding that tiny, it brings up a lot emotionally, but its good. It’s good to touch your baby. It’s good to hold your baby, does good things for you. It definitely helped me. I had postpartum depression really bad and every time I was away from her, I pollinate majorly, and so having that skin-to-skin, I’ve decided after a month of really bad postpartum depression.

I was going to roomed in the hospital, and they didn’t really want me to do that, and so my husband and I instead of mats, we literally slept on the floor in her room for three months that she was on the hospital, and that’s when it started to turn around with that postpartum depression of breast milk. All will get better and easier even if it’s not perfect with Kangaroo Care, it does bring a lot of healing, and healing for your baby, your baby doesn’t … You know, there’s sets in all of that is all erratic and it calms their system as well. So that’s my experience. I think it’s really, really important thing.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Wow. Thank you.

JESSIE: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Thank you so much, amazing.

RUTHY SLADDEN: With my first baby, in retrospect to have some you know, some postpartum, baby blues, I had a hard time bonding with him. I had an episiotomy and I think the pain medication, they put me on, was just, I'm really sensitive to stuff, so I was just, take me about two weeks to be able to take care of myself with the loneliness, like tiny infant, like when I think about the first couple weeks with him, the most positive I think about is sitting in my glider after I’ve nursed him, and that feeling of that little head on your chest. So we call that dear heart, that’s your heat. That’s where only the most precious people go, you know, that’s where your lover goes, that’s where your children go.

You only embrace your closest friends close to your chest. I think that that probably did a lot to keep me from sleeping into a more serious postpartum depression situation, and I think that you know, that’s like the warmest part of my early postpartum with him, was having him in that spot right there. It’s great for like you’re saying breastfeeding because it generates oxytocin which is what initiates your let down with milk. It’s the love hormone, it’s the boding hormone. I think all of that is really, really helpful. It was very positive for us in a much more normal less extreme situation.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Well, it’s beneficial for all moms and babies.

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, totally.

BRITNEY: I did more skin-to-skin than Kangaroo Care with my baby just because when my milk came in, I felt like the support actually made me a little bit more comfortable to have something on my chest. But with the skin-to-skin and I do have postpartum depression, so having her there in just drinking in that baby smell, like on my worst day, it’s just taking a nice deep breath and rubbing my cheek on her fussy little soft baby head and it just brings the since of common, a since of peace over me. My husband did more Kangaroo Care but I think it was really just an excuse if he could play video games longer because the baby was sleeping there.

KRISTEN STRATTON: So Kangaroo Care is also convenient.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

BRITNEY: But he still until this day, he still loves it when she fall asleep. She’s not really a coddler, she likes to just play and be active and so loves it when she falls asleep on his chest and he used to play more video games.

KRISTEN STRATTON: I’d love what she said, Jessie about at being healing because I remember with third, he was born not doing well. He had it of course for three and then five and then stayed at five and so, he went to NICU. I just remember aching like just aching for him and then they brought him back to me like I had a bunch of people talking to me and then, all room just went silent to me just like there’s still … her muscle still moving but I didn’t want anything other than my baby on my chest, and then actually my husband actually has a picture of the minute he’s on my chest and I was just like, just a sieve relief of having him there and just knowing that he was okay and that he was alive and being grateful and then she’s so healing to just have him in that position, so I loved that you brought that point because it’s so true, it’s so true.

When we come back, we will continue our discussion about how Kangaroo Care can be beneficial for the breastfeeding relationship between mom and baby. We’ll be right back.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: Welcome back to the show. We’re talking with Sejal Fichadia about Kangaroo Care and breastfeeding. Sejal, how does Kangaroo Care benefit the breastfeeding relationship between a mom and her new baby?

SEJAL FICHADIA: So Kangaroo Care benefits of breastfeeding relationship by releasing that oxytocin like one of the moms on the panels said, you know, that oxytocin release helps with the let down of the milk, and another thing that it also does is that when babies are on their mom’s chest, they are already so close to their food source that they do not have to make a lot of effort to wake up and find and learn that say shoulder calories from being extended and also, the fearing of calm and connectedness that comes with breastfeeding, lets the mom relaxed and enjoy breastfeeding instead of being worried about were her baby would when she wants to breastfeed. So I’ve feel like that oxytocin which is the power of love hormones is very important. It also kind of send the fatty milk in your breast forward and brings the active portion of your milk and it’s trying to reserve more milk so that a baby gets the fatty milk first. So 20 minutes of Kangaroo Care even before any breastfeeding session will help the mom have a better relief of oxytocin leading to a better let down and the baby is getting highest calorie milk.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And I would imagine that would also make it easier for mom to notice the early hunger cues in baby.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely, so the baby is basically staying in the kitchen so the mom can feed them.

KRISTEN STRATTON: I love that.

SEJAL FICHADIA: And the baby can eat whenever they want to.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yeah, open 24/7.

SEJAL FICHADIA: Yeah.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Perfect. Could a mom who is choosing to or who has to use formula still benefit from Kangaroo Care?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Absolutely. The benefits of Kangaroo Care are not just limited to breastfeeding, as I mentioned earlier that you know, the temperature regulation has improved, baby don’t undergo any cold stress. They are larger breath volume, also you know, the best thing about feeding a baby even if it is formula while the baby is in skin-to-skin contact with mother is that the oxytocin is still release and the mom still benefits on those relaxing effect of oxytocin. They also have been shown to have more mothering behaviors when they have received Kangaroo Care, so it’s not just above the food, it is so much more than food. And I feel like those babies who are giving formula, needed even more.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Is Kangaroo Care something that dad or partner could do to help bond with their baby?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Most certainly. Dad can do it. In fact I have written a blog post about it on my website on fathers and their feathers, and it came about from a question that was asked to me about a dad that “my husband doesn’t like to do skin-to-skin contact because he feels like the hair on his chest is going to bothered the baby,” and I have to tell them that it doesn’t matter what the father’s hairy chest looks like, the baby is going to love being there. Even when fathers, when they say I cannot birth and I cannot breastfeed, the way to kind of bond with your baby is through kangaroo father care.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And to our panelist, did your husband or partner use Kangaroo Care with your baby?

BRITNEY: He did for my son. For my daughter, it was like 12 years ago and we didn’t quite realize the importance of it. I wish I had. That I feel regret but one of the reasons I became certified in it is because I want all moms and dads know that this is something that works and you don’t need any expensive devices and gadgets do the best care to your baby.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And what about you Ruthy?

RUTHY SLADDEN: Yeah, I know, I can remember my husband definitely, he would game too. Oh I'm like, you sleep with three hours, what have you been doing, oh, please, just been hanging out, playing high low, whatever. The one thing with the chest here is there were obviously instances where they get their little saggy fingers round up in chest hair and they do get … That’s start to elaborate now and then but it’s kind of something you tackle about, so you just, hey, it’s an excuse to hold their hands so they don’t put your chest here, I guess, more bonding.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Yes. What about you?

JESSIE: Yeah, I think it’s one of the greatest things that as a husband, you can do the bond with your baby especially giving mamma break. She has that baby attached to her all the time and honestly the nicest thing my husband could do was give me a snack and take the baby. So Kangaroo Care went along way. For our NICU baby, we really felt like it helped us bond and keep her healthy and going. We continued for her first year of life doing it really regularly, and then, when our son was born, my husband could not wait to do skin-to-skin. He was so excited about it because he knew the benefits of it and what it looks like. You know, it’s nice when you have those late night feelings and your husband gets the baby snuggles him and everybody goes back to sleep peacefully, so yeah, I think it’s a really beneficial thing for dads too.

SEJAL FICHADIA: So you know, dad also have the exact thing neuro factors as the mom does in their brains when they do skin-to-skin contact and Kangaroo Care for their babies and it is just that the hormones that they have in your transmitters, they are in different concentration but they have a hormone called Rezo Preston that I know decreases their blood pressure, so it’s really good for the dad health too.

KRISTEN STRATTON: And Sejal, are Kangaroo Care and Tummy Time related?

SEJAL FICHADIA: Well, they are related in the sense that you know, both of them happen you know, the both skin or tummy time is the first two to three weeks, you know, you are doing tummy time on your parent’s chest. That’s what I am trained in as a Tummy Time tutor that the first two to three weeks, when the baby is outside the womb, they have to be on the parent’s chest and that will qualify as Tummy Time, and eventually, you know, as a baby girls, you want to put them and give them a lot of floor time and a lot of movement which kind of improve the breastfeeding, which improve the nervous system function. It also improves how they develop in terms of their motor development. It helps them with any of the postural imbalances from birth, you know, how babies are pushed up inside us, so it works that that is Tummy Time to me, but Kangaroo Care itself is definitely you are on your tummy but you are on the mother’s chest and you your chest as a baby and direct contact with the mother’s chest.

KRISTEN STRATTON: Thank you so much Sejal, and our lovely panelist for chatting with us today about Kangaroo Care. For our Newbies Club members, our conversation will continue after the end of the show as Sejal will give advice to tired moms whose babies will only sleep with being held. For more information about the Newbies Club, please visit our website at www.newmommymedia.com.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: All right, it’s time for “Baby Oops” story where you can share your funny stories that’ve happen with your babies when she brought him home from the hospital or wherever you delivered your baby. There are some really funny ones. I love reading this, so this one is hysterical. This comes from Lora. She’s basically giving us a play by play on what happened when they discharged her and her family from the hospital.

She say; “The On Call doctor didn’t realized that she was on call that day, and evidently was out of touch with everyone. So, after the hospital had called her a billion times and me paging her, she finally showed up at 7pm to discharge us. Then once she’d given the okay, the nurse comes in over to go over the discharge stuff with us, and all the did entails, and tells the nurse at the desk to take Katelyn’s bracelet out of the system so she could cut it off without setting the alarm off”. You guys know where this is going, right? “So we go through all of the paper work and like 10 minutes later, she cuts Katelyn’s band off. The alarm goes off, locking all the doors on the floor, turning off all of the elevators on our floor, 30 minutes later, they get everything unlocked and all of that we’re finally able to go home”.

“It was probably 9:30 at night by the time we got home and we were supposed to have be home by noon”. Well, at least we know that the system works, right? Lora, so I guess that’s one good thing that came out of this. So if you have a funny Baby “Oops” story you would like to share with us, please send it to us. You can go on our website at www.newmommymedia.com, send it through the contact link or send us a voicemail strait to the website. You don’t even have to pick up a phone anymore, just click on that banner on the side that says send voice mail, and you can just use the microphone on your computer, send it that way. So again, thanks Lora, and we hope to get more of these Baby “Oops” stories because seriously, a laugh might bought off every time I read them. Thanks so much.

[Theme Music]

KRISTEN STRATTON: That’s wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Newbies.

Don’t forget to check out our sister show:
• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Parent Savers for parents with infants and toddlers
• Boob Group for moms who breastfeed and
• Twin Talks for parents with multiples.

This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy you way.

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. The information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. While such information and materials are believed to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

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