Kangaroo Mother Care
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) refers to the practice of providing continuous skin to skin contact between mother and baby, exclusive breast milk feeding, and early discharge from hospital.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a special way of caring for low birth weight babies. It improves health their babies.
Advantages of KMC
- Benefits to Low birth weight baby.
- Benefits to the baby
- Benefits to preterm infants
- Benefits to the mother
- Control to hypothermia
Advantages of KMC to baby
- Early growth spurt
- Better IQ
- Warmth 24 hours
- Reduce infection
- Physiological stability
The two types of kangaroo Mother Care
Continuous KMC – with continuous KMC, the mother provides KMC all the time, both day and night.
Intermittent KMC – This type of KMC is not given all the time but only when a mother visits her infant who is still being nursed in and incubator.
What is the method of kangaroo Mother Care –
Kangaroo care is a method of holding a baby that involves skin to skin contact. The baby ,who is typically naked except for a diaper, is placed in an upright position against a patient’s bare chest.
Medical uses
Originally babies who were eligible for Kangaroo care included preterm infants weighing less than 1500 g and breathing independently. Cardio pulmonary monitoring , oximetry, supplemental oxygen or nasal (continuous positive Airway pressure) ventilation, intravenous infusions, and monitor leads do not prevent Kangaroo care. In fact, babies who are in Kangaroo care tend to be less prone to apnea and bradycardia and have stabilization of oxygen needs.
Benefits of KMC
1- Preterm and low birth weight infants
Kangaroo care is an effective and safe alternative to conventional neonatal care for LBW infants,mainly in resource-limited countries. Kangaroo Mother Care reduces mortality, and also morbidity in resource-limited settings, though further studies are needed.
Kangaroo care arguably offers the most benefits for preterm and low birth weight infants, who experience more normalized temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate, increased weight gain and fewer hospital-acquired infections. Additionally, studies suggest that preterm infants who experience Kangaroo care have improved cognitive development, decreased stress levels, reduced pain responses, normalized growth and positive effects on motor development. Kangaroo care also helps to improve sleep patterns of infants and may be a good intervention for colic. Earlier discharge from hospital is also a possible outcome finally kangaroo care helps to promote frequent breastfeeding and can enhance mother-infant bonding. Evidence from a recent systematic review supports the use of kangaroo Mother Care as the substitute for conventional neonatal care is setting where resources are limited.
2- For parents – Kangaroo care is beneficial for parents because it promotes attachment and bonding ,improves confidence and helps to promote increased milk production and breastfeeding sources.
The physiological benefits of kangaroo care for parents of preterm infants are fairly extensive. Research shows that the use of kangaroo care is linked to lower parental anxiety levels. It was shown to decrease anxiety scores in both mothers and fathers unrelated to parents marital status. Kangaroo care has also been shown to lead to greater confidence in parenting skills. parents who used Kangaroo care displayed higher confidence in their ability to care for their child. It has been shown to positively impack breastfeeding as well, with mothers producing larger amounts of milk for longer periods of time.
The main components of kangaroo Mother Care –
Kangaroo Mother Care originally referred only to care of low birth weight and preterm infants and is defined as a care Strategy including three main components; kangaroo position, kangaroo nutrition and kangaroo discharge.
What is the criteria for Kangaroo care
Kangaroo mothercare is recommended for the routine care of newborns weighing 2000 g or less at birth, and should be initiated in Healthcare facilities as soon as the newborns are clinically stable. Newborns weighing 2000 gram or less at birth should be provided as a close to continuous Kangaroo Mother Care as possible.
What is the minimum duration of KMC
Duration of KMC was at least 1 – 3 hours which was repeated at least three times a day. If mothers were not tolerating this duration due to disease or special conditions, KMC was performed at least for 30 minutes every time.
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