Kangaroo Care: how to guarantee and expand in Covid-19 times

Abstract

The low contamination by SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women, puerperal women and even newborns (NB), does not prevent the presence of concern in families and health teams in Neonatal Units (NU). We must be aware of the different requests that arise in the face of Covid-19 threats, in the hospital environment. We understand that, together with the fear of contamination, the restrictions imposed by isolation and social distancing, with the consequent withdrawal of family and social support networks, an important support for the parents of NBs during hospitalization, creates space for the emergence of insecurity and even restlessness in many families. Not being able to count on this support in the formation of parenting, the parents only have their son, still a baby, and the health team to help them in this process. In light of this, the proposals of Humanized Care for the Newborn - Kangaroo Method, in Brazil, evaluated the indication of adaptations in their guidelines, guaranteeing the protection of all psychic/emotional/biological phenomena that this child and his family go through in this evolutionary moment. Thus, comprehensive and individualized care for this population starts to count even more with the support of the internal networks present in the NU, facilitated by the professionals of the psychology team. Support for the narratives of different family histories that discover new paths for the formation of their affective bonds, in this very special moment, receives a more careful look in the period of this pandemic. Proposals for psycho-affective management towards the newborn and his family are presented, ensuring skin-to-skin contact, differentiated support to parents, especially the maternal figure, and interaction with the health team at the present moment in the routines of neonatal units, establishing protection for future moments in this family history.