Kangaroo Care in the NICU Featured on Grey's Anatomy

The most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy (November 5) featured a story line about using Kangaroo Care in the NICU. Resident tough-guy Alex Karev is on a pediatric rotation and assigned to care for a fragile premature baby.

In this short clip new doctor Reed (Nora Zehetner) walks in on Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) who is still holding a premature baby in his arms providing Kangaroo Care. Their scene ends at 2:00.



You can read more about Kangaroo Care in the NICU at the article on Type-A Mom or in the resources included below.

Another good resource on Kangaroo Care is one of the classic, comprehensive books on the topic by Susan Ludington-Hoe, Kangaroo Care: The Best You Can Do to Help Your Preterm Infant that is available on Amazon.

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A related article is on the Type-A Mom site under the NICU section of Mom Stages.


More on Kangaroo Care

March of Dimes. August 2009. Parenting in the NICU: Holding Your Baby Close: Kangaroo Care.

Cleveland Clinic. Kangaroo Care. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Understanding and Parenting Your Preemie: The Social Environment. Meriter Health.

Krisanne Larimer. 1999. Kangaroo Care Benefits. Prematurity.org.

Becoming an Empowered NICU Parent

One of the greatest difficulties for me as a NICU parent, who was also used to being a physician, was the overwhelming feeling that there wasn't anything I could do for my daughter.

I had to step back and turn over all of the care to those who understood the NICU technology and could help her medically to heal.

I described these feelings in an article that I wrote on "Observing Mother's Day with Renewed Appreciation," the first Mother's Day after my youngest was born.

In this situation I had to turn over complete control of her case to the neonatology team and consequently experienced feelings of complete helplessness.

The inability to do anything, to contribute to my daughter’s care medically as a physician or emotionally to hold her hand and pacify her as a mother was indescribably frustrating.

How was I supposed to "turn off" my years of training as a physician—being in the hospital, caring for patients and providing them comfort during a tormenting time?

It was impossible.

Becoming an NICU Empowered Parent
It didn't take long, perhaps only a few hours and I decided to change my feeling of helplessness and frustration and begin taking a more active role in her care. I looked for things we could do and ways we could to contribute to her care.

Three things that we did, which were recommended by other NICU parents as helpful ways of coping with the NICU:

1. Ask questions about your newborn.
2. Get involved with caring for your newborn.
3. Familiarize yourself with how the NICU works.

We created a Circle of Healing to have friends and family hold her in their hearts and minds and souls...so she could do better.

We brought in Music for her to listen to and if they had been available, I would have brought in Water Blessing Labels as a way to feel that we were doing something.

Ultimately, I created the Violet Heart Pin as something that I would have liked to have had to wear while she was in the NICU. I also wrote the Free NICU eBook For Those Who Hold the Littlest Hands as the resource we would have liked to have received when we were NICU Parents.

I think that's going a long way from feeling helpless and dependent on others to care for my daughter to becoming an Empowered NICU Parent.

Image Source. Benjamin Earwicker. All Hooked Up. Royalty Free Use.

Ways of Interacting with Your NICU Newborn

NICU Parents often feel more like visitors than the parents of their NICU newborn. They may even resent the NICU Team caring for their baby.

One way to help NICU Parents feel more like Parents is to find ways that they can interact with their new baby.

Empowering parents to "do something" that can uniquely contribute to the care of their baby can be very helpful in overcoming the feelings of frustration and helplessness.

Ways to Interact with Your NICU Newborn
There are many special loving ways for NICU Parents to interact with your baby and let him or her know you are there and you care.

Here some suggestions taken from the Free NICU eBook For Those Who Hold the Littlest Hands:

• Gently stroke or caress your baby. See how your baby responds. Be aware that some NICU babies do not like too much handling. You may just want to touch him or her.
• Lovingly hold your baby's foot or hand.
• Talk, read or sing quietly to your baby.
• Supply your baby with breast milk if possible.
• Write down your hopes as a poem or a blessing. Share your writings with your baby.
• Decorate your baby's incubator with washable toys, family pictures, cards, email messages & other special mementos. Make it a home away from home.
• Encourage your NICU baby to open his or her eyes by shielding your baby's face from the bright lights. This lets your baby look at you and around his or her environment.
• Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin) contact has been shown to help NICU babies thrive. Learn about this beneficial treatment. Check with the hospital’s use of Kangaroo care.
• Once your baby is doing better and his or her condition has stabilized, learn how to hold and rock your baby out of the isolette.

Parents Play a Special Role
NICU Parents need to realize that their role as parents is a special and irreplaceable one. Your voice, their touch and their presence are unique, familiar and reassuring for your baby.

These special parent features will bring comfort to the NICU baby and let him or her feel loved.

More:
Dyer K. 2005. Identifying, Understanding and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part II: Strategies. Neonatal Network. 24 (4): 27 – 39.

Image Source: Jason Kastanje. Baby's Hand. Royalty Free Use.