International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, which takes place on Thursday 15 May, aims to increase the support for, and knowledge of, the practice of Kangaroo Care. As a specialist supplier of developmental care products, Central Medical Supplies (CMS) champions Kangaroo Care, which is a unique ‘kangaroo-like’ therapy of skin-to-skin contact between a newborn and an adult.

The theme for this year’s Kangaroo Care Awareness Day is: “In My Arms, You Thrive” – a commitment to protecting and nurturing every baby through the power of touch. It highlights the profound impact of Kangaroo Care in promoting healing, stability and lifelong well-being, while honouring the clinicians and families who make it possible.

Kangaroo Care fosters a bond between parents and their babies.  One of the many benefits of carrying out Kangaroo Care is promoting physiological stability in neonates, which in turn supports growth and brain development. Other benefits include maintaining the baby’s body temperature within a normal range, by utilising a parent’s warmth, stabilising heart rate and oxygen levels, reducing stress and enhancing attachment.

As a passionate advocate of the merits of Kangaroo Care, CMS supplies baby warming systems to help facilitate the therapy. The Kanmed Baby Warmer is clinically proven to help babies from 1,000 grams maintain their core body temperature and achieve normothermia. A key advantage of the Kanmed Baby Warmer is the access it gives parents to their baby so they can participate in Kangaroo Care. This is as opposed to a traditional incubator, which restricts the ability to participate in the technique.