An Australian mother named Kate Ogg who gave birth to twins after only 27 weeks of pregnancy was shocked to find out that her son Jamie, weighing only 2 lbs had passed away. At the time of birth Emily, Jamie’s twin sister, was breathing and in good health while her brother had to be revived for twenty minutes to bring him back to life. After not responding to the treatment the parents were notified about the awful news. The mother couldn’t get over the fact of her son’s death so she removed his blanket and put him on her chest against her skin. Both Kate and David, Jamie’s father, spoke to Jamie calling his name, telling him he has a sister and describing everything they would do together throughout his life, hugged him and caressed him for two hours until the baby panted for air. But the physicians disregarded it as a reflex reaction. However, Jamie kept gasping for more and more air and Kate breastfed him for a bit and then the wonder happened : the baby started breathing. Far more later, the little baby boy opened his eyes and moved his head which stunned and overjoyed the doctors at the same time. The significance of the skin-on-skin care for sick babies was pointed out by the heroic mother and the trend has been recently accepted by many hospitals all over the globe. The technique is also famous as the Kangaroo Care method since it mimics the way kangaroos carry their newborns in their pouch. This way mothers act as a sort of incubators keeping the babies warm and alive. The Kangaroo care method also reduces the odds of infection and the percentage of hypothermia in preterm and low weight babies. Due to the skin-on-skin care method babies tend to sleep better and get severely sick less frequently. There is scientific proof that a baby’s temperature is restored by the contact with the mom’s skin faster than any incubator would do. This method is especially useful in the case of premature babies as they tend to have low body temperature because it allows the mother to use the heat of her own skin to warm the baby. The Lancet published a research by Karolinska Institute in Stockholm stating that ninety percent of the babies who underwent Kangaroo Care regained normal body temperature in comparison to sixty percent of the babies kept in incubators. It’s important to point out that the excess heat is passed to the mother so there is no risk of overheating. The approach is also useful for older babies since it will soothe them and improve their development. David Ogg is lucky for having a wife who acted bravely in a time of sorrow when most mothers would have been heartbroken.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 21:38:26 +0000
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