What is kangaroo touch?

Kangaroo touch is a technique used to encourage skin-to-skin contact between a newborn, usually premature baby and its mother as this touch is believed to keep it healthy. It is also encouraged between siblings. The name comes from the way kangaroos hold their young in their pouches. Kangaroo touch or care is now increasingly promoted in hospitals for the many benefits the mother’s warmth provides to the baby. It was initially developed to care for pre-term infants the way an incubator would in areas where it was not available.