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
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
25
Lactating parents will participate in kangaroo care (holding an infant upright, directly on the chest with skin-to-skin contact) prior to expressing a breast milk sample.
Lactating parents will provide a breast milk sample after having no contact with their infant for at least 6 hours.
UC Davis
Sacramento, California, United States
Breast milk calories (kcal/dL) by kangaroo care intervention
The difference in expressed breast milk caloric composition/energy content) between samples collected after participating in kangaroo care and those collected after having no contact with the infant for at least 6 hours.
Time frame: 10 days
Breast milk fat (g/dL) by kangaroo care intervention
The difference in expressed breast milk fat content between samples collected after participating in kangaroo care and those collected after having no contact with the infant for at least 6 hours.
Time frame: 10 days
Breast milk protein (g/dL) by kangaroo care intervention
The difference in expressed breast milk protein content between samples collected after participating in kangaroo care and those collected after having no contact with the infant for at least 6 hours.
Time frame: 10 days
Breast milk carbohydrate (g/dL) by kangaroo care intervention
The difference in expressed breast milk carbohydrate content between samples collected after participating in kangaroo care and those collected after having no contact with the infant for at least 6 hours.
Time frame: 10 days
Breast milk volume in mL by kangaroo care intervention
The difference in expressed breast milk volume expression between samples collected after participating in kangaroo care and after having no contact with the infant for at least 6 hours.
Time frame: 10 days
Implementation of scheduled Kangaroo Care Visits in the UC Davis NICU - KC time
Record minutes spent in Kangaroo Care during each study visit
Time frame: 10 days
Implementation of scheduled Kangaroo Care Visits in the UC Davis NICU - KC incomplete
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Record reasons for KC visits lasting less than 60 minutes - including infant causes (clinical instability, intolerance, technical issues with equipment) and parental causes (parental discomfort/anxiety, parental scheduling conflict, need to use restroom/express breast milk)
Time frame: 10 days
Implementation of scheduled Kangaroo Care Visits in the UC Davis NICU - Parental attitudes
Qualitative survey (via zoom) of parents after study visit completion to better understand attitudes and experiences with scheduled Kangaroo Care visits.
Time frame: 9 months
Implementation of scheduled Kangaroo Care Visits in the UC Davis NICU - Provider attitudes
Qualitative survey (via zoom) of NICU providers after participation in study visit completion to better understand attitudes and experiences with scheduled Kangaroo Care visits.
Time frame: 9 months
Duration of breast milk provision
Determine the length of time that breast milk is provided to the infant during the infant's hospital stay.
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth weight and discharge weight in grams) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight and discharge weight
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth length and discharge length in cm) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight and discharge weight
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth head circumference and discharge head circumference in cm) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight and discharge weight
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth weight z-score and discharge weight z-score) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight z-score and discharge weight z-score
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth length z-score and discharge length z-score) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight z-score and discharge weight z-score
Time frame: 9 months
Infant growth (Birth head circumference z-score and discharge head circumference z-score) during NICU hospitalization
Examine infant growth during NICU hospitalization, recording the birth weight z-score and discharge weight z-score
Time frame: 9 months