The benefits of mother-infant kangaroo care are globally recognized but there is little data on whether fathers and their infants achieve the same outcomes with this method.
While mothers are considered the dominant KC providers, traditional family structures have changed in recent decades, and fathers have long been overlooked.
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Can Fathers Give Kangaroo Mother Care For Bonding?
For the first time, University of South Australia researchers examined how dads’ bond with their premature newborns affects their bonding in a neonatal for the initial weeks.
The fathers who took part in the study reported a “silent language of love and connection” with their infant when they adopted the kangaroo care model.
First-time Adelaide father Joel Mackenzie says he felt an instant connection with his 540-gram daughter Lucy when he held her against his chest two weeks after she was admitted to the NICU.
This helped her get to know her father better and vice versa. It was good therapy for the fathers too. During KC, the skin-to-skin touch activates nerve receptors in mammals that spark certain hormones, reducing pain and stress for the baby and caregiver.
A child has an innate need to connect with one primary attachment figure which is generally the mother. However, fathers are playing a much larger role as caregivers, including single parents and same-sex parents.
Paid paternal leave policies are also encouraging fathers to care for their babies and develop a father-infant attachment as early as birth.
Though fathers initially felt anxious and powerless, the close contact with their babies through KC fostered strong bonds with their infants. This in turn relaxed them, built their confidence, and made them very happy.
Source: Medindia
