*Kangaroo Care for Neonatal Intensive Care Units video training resourse*
15 May is Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC day) and I wanted to let people know of
a new training resource of 14 highly produced films which can be used both
for training and advocacy for the use of KMC in Neonatal Intensive Care
Units with very preterm and low birth weight babies. The films were
developed by Picturing Health (www.picturinghealth.org) with the American
Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and also had input from WHO.
Evidence for the many benefits of starting Kangaroo Care or Kangaroo Mother
Care from birth in NICUs has been mounting in recent years to the point
that it is now recommended by WHO for all settings with almost all preterm
babies. But despite this, the practice in NICUs with small babies is often
limited. This is true both in high income countries as well as low and
middle income settings where the practice was first developed. The reasons
for this are many, with high income countries sometimes preferring all the
technology developed around incubators, and low and middle income countries
often citing problems of space and training.
The films form part of a course which has three aims. The first is to lay
out the evidence for the benefits of KMC, both in terms of infection
prevention, temperature control, promoting earlier breastfeeding and the
neurological benefits of keeping babies in skin to skin and not separating
them from their parents, so people understand why the guideline changes
have been made. The films tell the story of some of the research -
including the WHO run iKMC trial which found a 25% reduction in mortality
from immediate KMC in NICUs; and follow up after 20 years of a large
randomised Controlled Trial in Colombia. This follow-up forms part of a
growing body of evidence suggesting long term developmental benefits from
KMC. The second aim is to show in practical terms how to put very preterm
babies in skin to skin contact. This is actually more complex than might at
first appear - and from our filming in multiple sites we saw some common
mistakes made in the way very small preterm are handled. The third aim is
to show some examples of how iKMC has been successfully implemented in
different settings to overcome some of the common barriers cited for
implementation.
The 14 films are available to download and use from:
https://www.picturinghealth.org/ikmc-for-nicus/
They are also available on the AAP website and as a full course with the
World Continuing Education Alliance (WCEA). This can be accessed from:
https://www.aap.org/en/aap-global/immediate-kangaroo-mother-care-ikmc/
The film titles are:
1. Introduction to KMC.
2. History of separation and KMC.
3. The iKMC Study (looking at the WHO run RCT).
4. Temperature Control.
5. KMC and Infection Prevention.
6. The Neurological benefits of KMC.
7. Introduction to an M-NICU.
8. 10 years of Kangaroo Care at Mbale Hospital (which showcases what is
possible even when resources are very limited).
9. The Kangaroo Care Position and tying the baby.
10. Teaching parents and further methods of tying in KMC.
11. Immediate KMC and transfer to the NICU.
12. Feeding the baby.
13. Family Centred care in the NICU.
14. Going Home.
For other neonatal films, we have also produced 91 short films for a series
of clinical courses now online through WCEA on using the common technology
found in Neonatal units in Africa. These are published through the NEST 360
project. And we are currently working a series of more than 150 short films
on how to repair many of these devices from oxygen concentrators to CPAP,
phototherapy devices and radiant warmers. These will be available later
this year. To find out when, you can sign up for our newsletters at:
https://picturinghealth.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=23e92d10e401e97...
Tom Gibb
Director
Picturing Health
United Kingdom
tomgibb10@gmail.com