Effect of Kangaroo Mother Care on Growth and Morbidity Pattern in Low Birth Weight Infants

Abstract

Background: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is dened as skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her newborn baby derived from practical similarities to marsupial care giving, proximately exclusive breastfeeding and early discharge from hospital. This concept was proposed as an alternative to conventional methods of care for low birth weight (LBW) infants, and in replication to quandaries of earnest overcrowding in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). KMC essentially utilizes the mother as a natural incubator Aim and Objectives: The aim was to assess the feasibility, acceptability and the effectiveness of KMC in LBW infants. It avoids agitation routinely experienced in busy ward. Material and Methods: A pilot open-labeled quasi-randomised clinical trial was conducted in Level III NICU of a teaching institution. 60 newborn infants <2500 g, meeting inclusion criteria were alternatively randomised into two groups: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and Conventional Methods of Care (CMC). Kangaroo mother care was practiced with minimum total period of eight hours a day intermittently for the intervention group while the controls remained in incubators or cots. Weight, head circumference, length, morbidity episodes, hospital stay, feeding patterns were monitored for all infants till postmenstrual age of 42 weeks in preterm babies or till a weight of 2500 g is achieved in term SGA babies. Results: The pilot study conrmed that trial processes were efcient, the intervention was acceptable (to mothers and nurses) and that the outcome measures were appropriate; KMC babies achieved signicantly better growth at the end of the study (For preterm babies, weight, length and head circumference gain were signicantly higher in the KMC group (weight 19.28±2.9g/day, length 0.99±0.56cm/week and head circumference 0.72±0.07 cm/week) than in the CMC group (P <0.001). A signicantly higher number of babies in the CMC group suffered from hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and sepsis. Conclusion: Kangaroo mother care improves growth and reduces morbidities in low birth weight infants. It is simple, acceptable to mothers and can be continued at home.

Keywords

• Kangaroo Mother Care
• Skin-To-Skin Contact
• Thermal Care
• Low Birth Weight Infant
• Breastfeeding
• Sepsis
• Post Natal Growth