I sent Dr. Nils Bergman the link to this story, and he wrote the
following commentary, which I have permission to pass on:
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC
---------------------------
“Miracle premature baby”
A news report of an infant declared dead, and surviving after being
given to mother to hold in skin-to-skin contact, has made major media
attention. Prompted by inquiries, I have made this commentary.
This is an emotive story, but hardly original!
Unusual, but occurs ... actually right here in Cape Town just two weeks
ago !
Susan Ludington-Hoe opens one of her books on Kangaroo Care with a
similar anecdote.
My own research and "hypothesis" on this is based on the fact that to
almost all newborn mammals, separation from mother is life-threatening.
This activates a very powerful defence response, which is to shut down
and immobilise ( freeze and dissociation by vagal nerve activation).
Reptiles use this exact same vagal defence mechanism to slow their
hearts to levels that would kill mammals, who need more oxygen! As
adults, we think that stress increases heart rate because of our
sympathetic nervous system, but what is not properly understood is that
even full term newborns have very immature sympathetic nervous systems,
and premature infants extremely immature. Prems can only dissociate, and
if they are stressed before they are born, they may just remain in
dissociation ... with dangerously low oxygen levels.
Our resuscitation technology can force some regulatory oxygen and
breathing and blood pressure and temperature ... but it is working
against the "autonomic nervous system tide". There is great variability
in sensitivity and resilience in all human beings, and some are
sensitive and succumb despite our technology.
What "kangaroo care" does is restore the basic biology for survival. It
is "skin-to-skin contact" which is the key, because the deep sensory
fibres from the skin go to the "emotional processing unit" of the brain
(amygdala), and tells the brain "you are safe". This de-activates the
dissociation (un-safe mode), and restores the regulation (safe mode) -
which is the real function of the vagal nerve.
But there may be a paradox in this very case. Circumstances led to this
infant being allowed to stay in skin-to-skin contact for a long time,
which may in fact have been its saving grace !! Perhaps its tolerance
of separation may have been non-existant. But the paradox may work even
deeper ... perhaps it was so profoundly powerful in its vagal response
to dissociate in order to survive, that it could last long enough in the
shutdown state to be allowed to come back to mother! He may therefore
be highly resilient, which is why he survived !!!! The World Health
Organisation calls this Kangaroo Mother Care, and Mother was the key to
this baby's survival.
But it is good that this is receiving so much attention ...
all babies should be in skin-to-skin contact with Mother from birth
onwards,
no babies should be separated from their mothers (or fathers!).
This applies particularly to premature babies.
Dr Nils Bergman
Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2010/08/30/mom.touch.baby.life.cnn?hpt=C2
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/yaunzpop/popup/?rn=240896&cl=21590501&ch&src=y7tv
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1306283/Miracle-premature-baby-declared-dead-doctors-revived-mothers-touch.html
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