The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the impact of Kangaroo Care (holding your baby skin-to-skin on your chest) in lactating parents with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that cannot directly breastfeed.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the impact of Kangaroo Care (holding your baby skin-to-skin on your chest) in lactating parents with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that cannot directly breastfeed.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- The impact on breast milk volume and macronutrient content (calories, fat, proteins, and carbohydrates)
- Parental experience and perceptions with Kangaroo Care in the University of California (UC) Davis NICU.
Parental participants will:
- Come to the UC Davis NICU for scheduled visits - 4 total visits in a 10 day period.
- Perform Kangaroo Care (holding your baby skin to skin on your chest) for one hour (nurses and other staff will help you place baby comfortably on your chest and be there to help with any questions/concerns while holding)
- Express breast milk per visit schedule (Either before or after Kangaroo Care) using hospital grade pump provided by the NICU
- Provide breast milk sample for analysis (6ml or just over a teaspoon)
- Participate in a brief interview over Zoom (no video required) - this will be about 20 minutes in length
Healthcare provider participants will:
•Participate in a brief interview over Zoom (no video required) - this will be about 20 minutes in length