Learn From Kangaroo

Today I visited Rumah Sakit Bersalin Budi Kemuliaan to learn more about hospital management especially on how they managing and providing services for women and their reproductive matter. The hospital which is located in Tanah Abang area promotes them selves as "a hospital for all in the community", no matter are you from 'the behave level', ordinary people, or even the poorest in the community. Their aims are to provide a better quality reproductive health services for women and their children. Or in Bahasa, it commons called with "rumah sakit sayang ibu dan anak'' [hospital love mother and child]. 

This hospital which looks very clean, neat and organized from the entrance to the exit doors, is also well known with their leadership in promoting 'Kangaroo Mother Care' [KMC] in Indonesia. The KMC is a method of care of preterm infants which involves infants being carried, ussually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact. This is intended for health prof responsible for the care of low-birth-weight and preterm infants. This method is basically designed to be adapted to local conditions especially in less developed countries. 

As explained by the doctor in charged on this visit that about 20 mils low-birth-weight [LBW] babies are born each year in this world, because of either preterm birth or impaired prenatal growth, mostly in less developed countries like Indonesia. They contribute substantially to a high rate of neonatal mortality whose frequency and distribution correspond to those of poverty. She also said that in less developed countries high rate of LBW are due to preterm birth and impaired intrauterine growth, and their prevalence is decreasing slowly. Causes and determinants remain unknown, while effective interventions are limited. Very often that modern tech is either not available or cannot be used properly. My doctors friends also said some because of the shortage of skilled staff available. Others, for instance, Incubators, even if available, are often insufficient to meet local needs or are not adequately cleaned. Purchase of the equipment and spare parts, maintenance and repairs are difficult and costly, the power supply is intermittent, in short many times found that the equipment does not work properly. Incubators are also separate babies from their mother, depriving them of the necessary contact. Therefore this KMC promotes as an effective way to meet baby's need for warmth, breast feeding, as a protection from infection, stimulation, safety and love...

I feel that this method will be good to be practice specially in the area like Papua, where still difficult to access high tech facilities like Incubators, or even if available [since money is not a problem at all for the government which received the biggest share of block grant from the central government...plus donors,.... ] they still have lack of skilled staff to operate the equipment. 

By the way, this is not a foreign method for me. Whenever I feel cold and need a warmth, I seek it from my hubby. We will hug, and I always get that warmth..... so, its not only infants, but adults should also practice this method...for better interaction, especially for couples....:)