Sparrow RNICU’s Kangaroo-A-Thon promotes skin-to-skin with babies

Published: Sept. 19, 2016

Never heard of a Kangaroo-A-Thon? Sparrow’s award-winning Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU) is holding a Kangaroo-A-Thon until Sept. 28 to promote kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin. It’s a way to encourage parents to hold babies skin-to-skin for as long and as often as possible.

As part of the Kangaroo-A-Thon, parents of babies in the RNICU will be entered into drawings for prizes from local retailers anytime they hold their baby skin-to-skin.

The benefits of skin-to-skin are numerous, from allowing babies to grow and gain weight faster to doing better with breastfeeding and improved sleep.

Dad Ben Friedkan practices skin to skin with two-week-old son Avishai Friedkin in the Sparrow RNICU.