BETTY’S BAY – The name Nils Bergman in a recent parkrun report triggered an interesting response from one of our readers, who informed us that this participant in long trousers and a broad-brimmed hat is world-famous as the pioneer of Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) for premature babies (full-terms also).

Our reader further mentioned that Dr. Bergman’s initial doctoral thesis was about scorpions and the treatment of patients stung by them, mostly in Zimbabwe, but there’s even a Betty’s Bay scorpion mentioned in the study.

Further research revealed that immediate mother-infant skin-to-skin contact is indeed considered a significant scientific breakthrough. If started immediately at birth, skin-to-skin contact and help with breastfeeding can save up to 150,000 more lives per year globally, compared to starting it once the baby is stable.

Nils was born in Sweden and raised in Zimbabwe, where he also later worked as a mission doctor. Dr. Bergman received his medical degree (MB ChB) at the University of Cape Town, a Master’s in Public Health at the University of the Western Cape, and a Doctorate from University of Zimbabwe for his dissertation on scorpion stings. He has worked in rural South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Sweden, and his last posting (ended 2005) was Senior Medical Superintendent of Mowbray Maternity Hospital in Cape Town, overseeing 18,000 births per year. Since then he has been a freelance consultant and researcher, focusing full-time on Kangaroo Mother Care.

The 69-year-old Dr. Bergman and his wife, Jill, are currently on holiday from dark and cold Sweden in Betty’s Bay, where Jill and her sister Jenny (and Charles) have a house near Jock’s Bay. They have a long connection through the Norton family, going back to 1960. Jill’s brother Peter Norton and his wife Rachel are permanent residents in Bettys Bay, and Peter has done more than 150 park runs! Further, Peter was the first person in South Africa ever to do skin-to-skin contact, to his triplets born 30 years ago.

Q.  What brings you back to Betty’s Bay from Sweden?
A.  Holiday away from icy cold and long darkness. I love the warmth, but my Nordic skin needs the trousers and the hat against the sun!

Q. What do you enjoy most about this area?
A. The fynbos and the gardens, the mountains and the sea. And many friends and family!

Q. How do you balance your professional commitments with enjoying leisure time and family activities?
A. The last few years we have prioritized family: my late father, and now three children and spouses, with six grandchildren living close to us in Stockholm. When they need us: we go. Work has to come second.

Q.  What projects or initiatives are you currently working on?
A.  The Immediate KMC study was completed 5 years ago, and the World Health Organization has made new health policies that skin-to-skin contact for small and for sick newborns should start immediately and be continuous. They should NOT be placed in incubators! But nobody notices … so now I am starting to work on dissemination and translation of evidence to practice.

Q.  How do you see the future of Kangaroo Mother Care evolving, and what role do you hope to play in it?
A.  In the broader sense, the main problem our culture and healthcare has is the practice of separating mother and baby. The role I am taking on now is to provide a scientific rationale and explanation for immediate and continuous skin-to-skin contact for all babies, specially those born small and sick. I call this nurturescience for the positive health enhancing behaviours that skin-to-skin contact leads to: breastfeeding, regulation, emotional connection and resilience. Synonymous is “Zero Separation”, addressing the active and direct harms that follow from mother-baby separation. (I can explain this science from what I learned from scorpion stings!) And thirdly: the “kangaroula” is specifically dedicated to make sure that every newborn is placed immediately in skin-to-skin contact and helped with colostrum and breastfeeding. The best interests of the child are paramount, says the Convention for the Rights of the Child.  This is the future that I want to see, and am striving for!

(Details on website  www.kangaroomothercare.com ).