Las Palmas hospital celebrates Kangaroo Care Awareness Day

International kangaroo care awareness day was celebrated today at Las Palmas Medical center.

It’s a day where parents are encouraged to perform kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin contact.

Skin-to-skin contact has many benefits for parents and babies including a more stable heart rate for baby and it also helps improve breastfeeding for mommy and baby.

Crystal Ramirez’s newborn baby girl, Luisa, was born 10-weeks early and only weighed two pounds at birth.

“I didn’t know about the skin-to-skin, I mean I would hold my babies but not as we are doing it now. We do an hour or two hours skin to skin,” said Ramirez.

Since practicing the skin-to-skin technique, baby Luisa has gained two more pounds.

The technique is not only encouraged to be practiced by moms, but by dads too.

Practicing skin-to-skin contact is a way to create a special bond with your baby even when they’re not so little anymore.