Kangaroo Mother Care or KMC is an intervention introduced by the World Health Organization and supported by various paediatrics associations as a cost effective and high impact intervention. In clinical settings, it shows massive improvement in the health of children and improvement in the prognosis of sick babies.
In this article:
What is Kangaroo Mother Care?
Kangaroo Mother Care involves skin to skin contact of the baby with mother alongside exclusive breast feeding. KMC skin to skin contact can also be given by another caregiver if the mother is not available due to some reason. It should be followed for all newborns as soon as possible but definitely for sick and preterm babies.
What is the position for Kangaroo Mother Care?
Baby is held against the mother or the caregiver with skin to skin contact. The baby is placed with a straight torso and knee bent over the upper abdomen. The head of the baby is placed between the breasts with the face turned to one side. Mother or the caregiver uses one hand to support the head of the baby while the other hand supports the bottom. A blanket or quilt should be placed over the baby for keeping the temperature warm.
What are the benefits of Kangaroo Mother Care?
KMC has a number of benefits for the baby and the mother, both physical and emotional.
Benefits for the baby:
- Regulates heartbeat of baby
- Regulates breathing pattern of baby
- Helps baby to gain weight
- Improves oxygen saturation of baby
- Reduces hypothermia
- Helps and improves breastfeeding
- Improves immunity of baby
- Reduces stress felt by baby
- Improves cognitive function of preterm babies in the long run
Benefits for the mother:
- It improves the mother baby bonding
- Improves confidence in handling newborn
- Supports early production of breast milk
When, where and duration to start Kangaroo Mother Care?
Kangaroo Mother Care should be started as soon as possible after birth, ideally within an hour for preterm babies. Earlier, it was believed that KMC should be started only after preterm or sick babies are stables but now it is a widespread practice to start KMC as soon as possible.
KMC can also be started either at home or at healthcare facilities. Once the caregivers are aware of the proper technique of KMC, it can be performed without guidance at home. A baby should receive at least 8 hours of KMC in a day with the maximum amount of time being no bar.
Which babies should receive Kangaroo Mother Care?
- All babies should receive kangaroo mother care irrespective of their health status.
- All preterm babies <37 weeks should definitely receive kangaroo mother care irrespective of weight.
- All babies with weight under 2500 g should definitely receive kangaroo mother care irrespective of weeks of gestation.
