M-A | The efficacy of Kangaroo-Mother care to the clinical outcomes of LBW and premature infants

Summary: Kangaroo-Mother Care (KMC) is a method that involves skin-to-skin contact between the mother and newborn, frequent exclusive or almost exclusive breastfeeding, and early discharge. KMC is an alternative to traditional care interventions for low birthweight (LBW) infants, and the World Health Organization has recommended its use for LBW infants for over a decade.

The authors conducted a meta-analysis including 17 randomized clinical trials involving 17,668 participants. They found that KMC can significantly reduce neonatal mortality, lower hypothermia and sepsis rates, and reduce the duration of hospital stay. The authors suggest that KMC should be promoted, popularized, and standardized in clinical practice.

Article: The efficacy of Kangaroo-Mother care to the clinical outcomes of LBW and premature infants in the first 28 days: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials – Frontiers in Pediatrics

Related:

Immediate “Kangaroo Mother Care” and Survival of Infants with Low Birth Weight – New England Journal of Medicine

Effect of community-initiated kangaroo mother care on survival of infants with low birthweight: a randomised controlled trial – The Lancet

Effect of Community-Initiated Kangaroo Mother Care on Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Stress Among Mothers of Low-Birth-Weight Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA Network Open

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birthweight infants – Cochrane Library

Preterm care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative risk analysis of neonatal deaths averted by kangaroo mother care versus mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 infection – EclinicalMedicine