Utility of kangaroo mother care in preterm and low birthweight infants

Abstract

Preterm birth (< 37 completed weeks of gestation) is the largest direct cause of neonatal mortality, accounting for an estimated 27% of the 4-million neonatal deaths every year. Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a type of care for preterm and premature infants whereby the infant is placed in an upright position against the parent's chest, with early skin-to-skin contact between the parent and infant. Mothers who practise KMC exhibit less maternal stress and fewer symptoms of depression, and have a better sense of the parenting role and more confidence in meeting their babies' needs than those who don't. Despite the apparent feasibility of KMC, currently, only a few preterm babies in low-income countries have access to this intervention. Knowledge of the effectiveness and safety of KMC in the community and home setting, and its effects on growth, is still incomplete. Only one study has examined KMC initiation at home. There is an immense need for the promotion of research to improve the delivery of existing cost-effective interventions in low-resource settings and to address key gaps in knowledge. KMC improves growth in low birthweight and preterm infants, and has a significant role to play in protecting them from hypothermia and sepsis, as well as promoting exclusive breastfeeding. KMC helps to reduce neonatal mortality, and inculcates confidence and a better sense of parenting in mothers with regard to their babies' needs. © Medpharm S Afr Fam Pract 2013;55(4):340-344

Quality of Kangaroo Mother Care services in Ethiopia: Implications for policy and practice

“…Health centers were twice more likely to initiate KMC compared hospitals, and public facilities were also more likely to initiate KMC compared to private facilities. This result differs from other studies done in Malawi and South Africa that found higher KMC utilization in hospitals compared to lower-level facilities [19, 23]. In Ethiopia, LBW babies born in hospitals were more likely to be put in incubators.…”

The effects of kangaroo mother care on the time to breastfeeding initiation among preterm and LBW infants: a meta-analysis of published studies

“…This is in line with the previous systematic review studies in which KMC group initiated breastfeeding 1.6 days earlier than conventional neonatal care [10]. It was observed that infants who exposed to KMC showed significantly better emotion regulation than infants who exposed to the usual standard care which again initiated early breastfeeding [24, 25]. Furthermore, KMC has a significant role in starting breastfeeding among preterm and LBW infants [26–28].…”

<p>Neonatal sepsis and associated factors among newborns in hospitals of Wolaita Sodo Town, Southern Ethiopia</p>

“…This finding was in line with study done in Zimbabwe, meta-analysis done by reviewing different literatures, and studies conducted in different parts of the world. [27][28][29][30] The reason for this is due to the fact that KMC increases mother to baby bonding, breastfeeding, and thermal protection better than conventional care and gives less opportunity for infections. In addition, immediate and exclusive breastfeeding serves as the starting point for a continuum of care for mother and newborn who can have long-lasting effects on health and development.…”