Jill Bergman

Jill Bergman has a degree in Geography and English, and a higher diploma in education.   She has worked as a teacher, lecturer, missionary, counselor, guider and youth leader, all these in three different cultures using three languages. Nevertheless, her top priority is her family, she has been an involved mother of three, who all breastfed for 18 months, and are now bright and super young adults. She is passionate about parenting.

Jill has been involved with Dr Nils Bergman in supporting and promoting Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) for 25 years. As a teacher and counsellor she wants all parents to be given the Neuroscience of caring for their newborn babies in normal non-medical English. She has written and produced 4 DVDs on KMC. She has recently written a book called “Hold Your Prem”, a practical workbook on skin-to-skin contact for parents of premature babies. The newest DVD is KMC for every baby called Grow your Baby’s Brain. Jill is a qualified DOULA, and her knowledge of developmental care, and the above neuroscience on KANGARoo Mother Care, makes her a unique advocate for the baby at birth, a KANGAROULA !

 

Read more about Jill’s KANGAROULA work on this website, and also the parts that concern small preterm babies here

 

As a doula Jill supports mothers in normal birth in Cape Town. This includes keeping skin to skin contact in operating room should a caesarean be necessary.

As a Kangaroula, she speaks for the Neuroscience and needs of the baby’s developing brain to be on mothers chest in skin to skin contact at birth. She supports keeping the mum and baby as a unit together to minimise stress for every newborn. She also works with developmental care for premature babies in the NICU

As an educator Jill trains allied health professionals, midwives and specifically parents on the biological needs of the baby at birth and in the first days. She longs to bring the information into a form that every parent can understand. She has, with Nils, written a book called Hold Your Prem and made four films for parents of prematures and also Grow Your Baby’s Brain

As a counsellor she supports and encourages and empowers parents in adjusting to a new baby.  She also supports parents of premature to cope with the strain of having a tiny baby in the NICU.see prematurity