Kangaroo ‘Father’ Care in Zanzibar

A rare sight to applaud is of Omari Ali cradling one of his tiny twin sons strapped close to his body, at a health centre in Mwembeladu, Zanzibar.

He eagerly followed advice of nurses who broke the news to him that his newly-born babies were severely underweight needed special care that he and his wife can provide.Kangaroo Mother Care.

At first Ali was worried that even swaddling his fragile-looking babies close to his body might hurt them in some way. They weighed less than 1.5 kilograms. Nurses explained to him carefully about the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), an intervention that uses skin-to-skin contact—a parent’s own body—to warm and nurture the child.

Ali’s nervousness disappeared with the patient and encouraging coaching of nurses Fildaus Abrahman and Zainab Jadid.  They took their time to emphasize the benefits of sharing with his wife the daily work of nurturing the babies. They went as far as showing him pictures demonstrating the simple technique.

You feel very warm, but that’s how it should be, as the child feels as if it was in his mother’s womb. I would hold the child in this position [KMC] for about two hours, then I take him to his mother for breastfeeding.

Exceptional dedication of a true role model

Ali was simply doing duty as a parent.

However it is a commendable gesture because many African men wouldn’t have contemplated doing what is considered a woman’s job. The 27-year old car mechanic from Amani Freshi Suburb in Stone Town had jumped right in and arranged to leave work three times a day to partner with his wife, Salma Issa, in this life-saving care.Ali and his wife continued with the KMC at home for Issa after they were discharged. They returned to the health center weekly to check on their development. Their boys grew stronger with Idrissa reaching 2650 grams and Issa weighing 1,650 grams.

He has set a good example for other men to follow. He never missed a day, and one day he slept at the hospital to help his wife with the twins. Even his wife says that her husband is very committed and continues carrying and warming the twins at home.

Support for Kangaroo Mother Care from Partners in Zanzibar

In Zanzibar, 7 percent of babies are born with low birth weight each year and health providers are teaching parents how to give their babies skin-to-skin contact, protect them from infection, and breastfeed them exclusively. The effort is one of the maternal- and infant-care services funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Mothers and Infants, Safe, Healthy and Alive (MAISHA) Program. Jhpiego, a global health non-profit and Johns Hopkins University affiliate, works with Save the Children and Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to support this intervention.

This story is courtesy of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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