Effect of kangaroo mother care plus touch therapy versus kangaroo mother care alone on the low-birth-weight infant’s growth and physiologic responses: Randomized controlled trial

Background@#Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has facilitated infant growth and decreased morbidities and hospital stay. Adding touch therapy (TT) may potentiate the KMC benefits. @*Objective@#To compare the effectiveness of KMC+TT versus KMC alone in improving anthropometric and physiologic parameters and decreasing morbidities and hospital stay in low birth weight (LBW) infants. @*Methods@#Stable LBW infants (<2000 g) admitted in the KMC ward were randomized to either intervention (KMC+TT) or control (KMC only) group. The KMC+TT group underwent thrice daily touch therapy sessions until discharge. @*Results@#A total of 50 infants were included in the study. Baseline characteristics between the two groups were comparable. There was a significant increase in weight gain (grams/kg/day) in the KMC+TT group compared to KMC only. Physiologic parameters like heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature were significantly better in the KMC+TT group. More infants in the KMC only group were transferred to NICU care, while more KMC+TT infants went home against advice. Hospital stay was similar between the two groups. @*Conclusion@#Touch therapy added to KMC is more effective than KMC alone in improving weight gain and physiologic parameters. It is associated with lower morbidities, although it did not affect the hospital stay.

Effect of kangaroo mother care on the likelihood of breastfeeding from birth up to 6 months of age: A meta-analysis

Background@#One of the World Health Organization (WHO) nutrition target by 2025 is 50% exclusive breastfeeding rate among infants until age 6 months. Kangaroo mother care (KMC) known to increase breastfeeding rates, especially in preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants. @*Objectives@#This study determined the effect of KMC to the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among preterm and LBW infants at 6 months of age. @*Methods@#Conducted searches in MEDLINE and CENTRAL databases, likewise hand searched local publications December 1996 until June 2018. Included several randomized controlled trials and prospective observational studies comparing KMC and conventional care among preterm and LBW infants. The primary outcome was exclusive breastfeeding of infants at six months of age. Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data the statistical analysis applied using Review Manager version 5.3. @*Results@#Identified nine eligible trials involving 1,202 neonates. All studies had low-to-moderate risk of bias. KMC significantly noted to increase the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding by 1.9 times at birth up to 6 months (OR 1.93 [1.18,3.17], p=0.009). @*Conclusion@#KMC can increase exclusive breastfeeding among preterm and LBW infants from birth up to 6 months of age.

A randomized controlled trial of intermittent kangaroo mother care versus conventional care in increasing the rate of weight gain among low-birth-weight neonates

Objective@#To determine the effectiveness of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) in increasing the rate of weight gain and decreasing hypothermia, apnea, and sepsis rate, and shorten hospital stay among low-birth-weight infants. @*Methods@#Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (≤1500 grams) were randomized to either the KMC or conventional care group. KMC provided skin-to-skin contact at least 6 hours per day while the conventional group received the usual care in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). Daily weight measurements and weekly measurements of length, head, and chest circumference were recorded until discharge. Occurrence of hypothermia, apnea, sepsis, and length of stay was noted. @*Results@#KMC group had a higher mean weight gain per day (p=0.0102). There was no difference in the length, head, and chest circumference between the two groups. Sepsis and apnea rates were not significant between the two groups. Significantly more neonates experience hypothermia in the control group (p<0.0069). @*Conclusion@#KMC is effective in increasing the weight per day compared with the control group. KMC protects the neonates against hypothermia. There is not enough evidence to show a difference in the incidence of sepsis, apnea, and the length of hospital stay between the two groups.