HOPKINSVILLE—An educational program encouraging skin-to-skin contact between parents and their newborns is now offered at Jennie Stuart Medical Center. Registered nurses at the hospital have been trained as community educators in the Kangaroo Care initiative and are planning two free lectures on the program the week before Mother’s Day.

“We will educate mothers and fathers about Kangaroo Care upon admission to Labor & Delivery and also will have information available at the Ob Gyn Associates physician practice at our campus,” Janice Johnson, RN, manager, JSMC Maternity Department, says. “This program helps newborns transition to life outside the womb, promotes sleep, minimizes pain perception, and has many other benefits.”

“As Kangaroo Care improves parental bonding with newborns, it’s also expected to help decrease the rate of child abuse,” Jenny Rush, RN, JSMC Maternity Department, says.
Lectures on Kangaroo Care for expectant parents are planned at the following times:
1. Tuesday, May 8, 6 p.m. at the Christian County Health Department.
2. Thursday, May 17, 5-7 p.m. at the “World’s Greatest Baby Shower,” at Hopkinsville Community College.

As part of this initiative, the Maternity Department at JSMC has instituted quiet time every day from 2 to 4 p.m.
JSMC is a private, not-for-profit health organization that includes an acute-care medical center; free-standing medical imaging, outpatient surgery, laboratory, and rehabilitation services; and an integrated physician network. Read more online at www.jsmc.org.