Hi all, 

As I said earlier, I will come back to this topic every now and then. 

In the paper published by Karleen, it says: 

It is noteworthy that the term “Kangaroo Mother Care” was created to emphasize the unique importance of mothers to their sick and premature infants. The chest wall and breasts of a lactating mother are warmer than those of a non-lactating woman or man (131). This is a highly conserved neuroendocrine physiological expression of primate reproductive fitness for all newborns, and more so for infants born small or sick (132). However, some are now suggesting that the name be changed to “Kangaroo Parent Care” in the pursuit of inclusivity and a misguided attempt at equality (133).


-----This looks like a solid reasoning. However, I think it is álso worth noting that Nils Bergman’s (one of the reviewers of the paper and considered as the 'inventor' of kangaroo care) website itself discusses the differences between the terms “Kangaroo Mother Care” and “Kangaroo Care” without defining the gender/sex of the carer: 
https://kangaroomothercare.com/about-kmc/what-is-kmc/

Besides that, the website has an entire section on the value of father-baby skin-to-skin care: https://kangaroomothercare.com/about-kmc/fathers-and-skin-to-skin-contact/

To me, the take-away-message from Kangaroo-care is that SKIN-TO-SKIN contact is the most important thing. I would even add, that it is almost álways preferred (even if mother, father or other familymembers are not available) over laying a baby on its own in a crib. 


Lydia de Raad
Volunteer counsellor La Leche League (LLL) Netherlands (Europe)
All opinions expressed in this email are my own

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome