Kangaroo Mother Care 2024 Competition RESULTS

The Kangaroo Mother Care competition, reaching its 4th edition in 2024, has become an important pillar for ARNIS in its work to promote access for parents in NICU.

The 4th edition doubled the hospitals to the competition, doubled medical personnel involved and resulted in 4 times more hours in the kangaroo for parents and children compared to the 3rd edition in 2023. We gathered our resources, experience of organization so far and together with sponsors and donors for the NICU Program we started the competition dedicated to medical professionals, where the grand prize was a study visit to a model Family Centered Care unit in Portugal.

In total, 1350 hours of Kangaroo Mother Care (skin to skin care) were practiced this year, compared to 333 practiced in the 3rd edition of 2023.

Teams consisting of 2 nurses and a doctor, specialists working in Level 2 and 3 Neonatal wards, from 7 hospitals, entered the competition to practice the parent-child kangaroo care method in NICUs. A total of 10 teams, totaling 30 specialists fought to keep parents and babies together, as close and long as possible during the long hospital stay after birth.

Compared to the 2023 edition 3 regulation, this year we decided to put more emphasis on father-baby kangaroo experiences. As mothers have the chance to visit the child more often because they are either hospitalized or come to bring the milk, fathers most often see their baby in pictures and at discharge. The strategy worked, this year we had a record number of fathers involved in the KMC Competition. From year to year we improve the rules of the competition in order to achieve the goal of the NICU Program: the transformation of Neonatal wards in Romania into Family Cenetred Care units where parents actively participate in the care of babies hospitalized for a long time at birth.

On May 20, after completing the registration of the teams in the competition and before starting the practice, we organized a workshop with NIDCAP specialists Beverley Hicks and Trisha Bellingham from Family and Infant Neurodevelopmental Education UK – FINE on the topic of the correct practice of kangaroo care. Since not all specialists registered in the competition did not participate in the F.I.N.E. Course, we considered it necessary for doctors and nurses to be trained to support families in the correct practice of the kangaroo care.

The competition organized by ARNIS reflects the affiliation to the #ZeroSeparation Campaign initiated by EFCNI and GLANCE – Global Alliance for Newborn Care, which supports the integration of parents in NICU wards from the beginning of the child’s life. We also follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization, which is making efforts to include parents as primary caregivers of newborns and to practice Kangaroo mother Care globally as a standard in neonatal health (details here).

In addition to the prizes offered to the teams, we provided chairs for Kangaroo Mother Care 2 departments: Neonatology SCJU Slobozia (2 chairs) and Neonatology Spitalul Clinic Malaxa (1 chair). The chairs were donated to give maternity hospitals that did not have the necessary equipment the chance to participate in the competition.

The hospitals participating in the “KMC 2024” competition were: SCJU Sibiu (Neonatal Intensive Care- NICU and Premature Unit), Clinical Hospital dr. I. Cantacuzino – Department of Neonatology, Emergency Clinical Hospital “St. Ioan” Bucharest – Bucur Maternity, SCJU Târgu Mureș (3 teams from the Neonatology department), Slobozia County Emergency Clinical Hospital – Neonatology department, Life Memorial Bucharest, “Nicolae Malaxa” Clinical Hospital Bucharest – Neonatology department.

 “KMC 2024” Contest ranking:

-1st place-team Sibiu 1 (SCJU Sibiu-NICU)_330 points_Prize: study visit to Portugal – 2 days in the week of 01-09/06/2024
-2nd place-team Sibiu 2 (SCJU Sibiu-Prematuri Unit)_297 points_Prize: 3 scholarships for team members at the FINE. Course Level 1 in October 2024, 1 espresso machine for the unit.
-3rd place-Cantacuzino Bucharest team_104 points_Prize: Exchange of best practices at the Neonatology Department TIN SCJU Sibiu – 1 day in August 2024 (for the 3 members of the KMC team)
-4th place-Bucur Maternity_85 points_Prize: Exchange of best practices at the NICU of  SCJU Sibiu – 1 day in August 2024 (for the 3 members of the KMC team)
-5th place-Târgu Mureș team 1_54 points
-8th place-Târgu Mureș team 3_33 points
-9th place-Târgu Mureș team 2_29 points
_Prize for Neonatology Tg. Mureș: 2 espresso machines + 25 Scholarships for the FINE Course Level 1 in October 2024 (for 25 medical staff)

-6th place – Life Memorial Medlife Bucharest team – 43 points_Prize: 15 pcs. Kangaroo Mother Care Wraps
-7th place – team Slobozia – 34 points_Prize: 15 pcs. Kangaroo Mother Care Wraps
-10th place – Malaxa Bucharest team – 16 points_Prize: 15 pcs. Kangaroo Mother Care Wraps
Congratulations to the winners and congratulations to all the teams entered in the competition!

The jury was formed by Beverley Hicks (NIDCAP Specialist and FINE UK trainer), Corina Croitoru (founder member and president of ARNIS), Ruxandra Nan (vice-president of ARNIS), Ileana Falcescu (member of the Board of Directors of ARNIS), Luiza Mutu (member of the ARNIS team). The competition took place between 20.05-20.06.2024, and the jury calculated the score and published the results on 27.06.2024.

Thank you to the sponsors and donors for the NICU Program. List of sponsors here.
Thank you to XXS Prematuros from Portugal for your partnership and support in awarding the grand prize!
Thank you mrs. Dr. Livia Maria Ognean, Head of Neonatology Department SCJU Sibiu for the opportunity to visit the winning department!
We thank the FAN Courier Foundation for being our reliable partners in the delivery of prizes!
Many thanks to the doctors, nurses and nurses who help parents to be close to the long-term hospitalized puppies at birth!

*all images with parents and children published in the communications about the KMC Competition edition 4 (2024) are based on consent signed by the parents. Copyright ARNIS 2024