Inside the NICU

Kangaroo-a-thon: Celebrating the power of parental touch

What a wonderful time we’ve had celebrating the power of parental touch!

The kangaroos on this wall started off on the walls of our baby rooms, and each one represents a kangaroo care or encircled holding session. Over the two week run of the kangaroo-a-thon, parents held their babies for more than 605 hours, which equals 25 full days!

The whole thing started, as it should, with a party.  We invited parents and staff to kick off together, and it seemed very appropriate that our “Closer to the Heart” celebration began on Valentine’s Day.

We wanted families to know all about the many benefits of kangaroo care, so our breastfeeding resource nurse put up beautiful information boards in our parent corridor.

We also were lucky enough to have a graduate mom donate her time, in collaboration with Sunnybrook’s amazing Monica Matys, to make this wonderful video about her experience kangarooing her son.

Our families loved the kangaroo-a-thon, and on behalf of them and all who enjoyed this event, we need to say a hearty thank you to Luisa, the breastfeeding resource nurse, who made it all happen. Thank you, Luisa!  If you were a little bit shorter we would offer you a kangaroo cuddle of your own! Also, a big thanks to our doctors, who offered such wonderful support to both staff and families.

Of course the fun doesn’t stop now … we know that we need to keep spreading the message about kangaroo care. Next up: International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day on May 15th!

Happy holding, everyone!

About the author

Kate Robson