Low Birth Weight Babies and Kangaroo Mother Care

Abstract

Babies with birth weight of less than 2.5 kg irrespective of the gestational age are the Low

Birth Weight (LBW) Babies which include both preterm and small-for–date. Low Birth Weight babies have higher morbidity and mortality and are more prone to malnutrition, infections and neuro-development handicapped in later life.

Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a method of care for preterm infants which involves infants

being carried out usually by the mother through skin-to-skin contact. It is the cost-effective and useful strategy to enhance the survival of low birth weight babies. It was first implemented by Roy and Martinez in 1979 at the Maternal and Child Institute of Bogota, Colombia.

Kangaroo mother care helps to prevent infections, promote breastfeeding, regulate the baby’s temperature, breathing and encourages mother and baby bonding. It is simple and can be easily practiced at home. So, it is a standard care for LBW babies which can be applicable in all settings. Babies have a good weight gain of an average of 30gms/day and have a short duration of hospital stay of an average 9 days when they receive kangaroo mother care. Similarly, Kangaroo mother care effectively reduces morbidity like hypothermia, apnea, skin infections, and oral thrush among babies. Kangaroo mother care is a low-cost approach for the care of low-birth-weight babies. Kangaroo mother care is best-suited care strategy to provide care to low birth weight babies which helps in the survival and improves the quality of life of those LBW babies who survive. This will ultimately help to reduce neonatal and infant mortality rates and contribute to the overall health status of the country. This article helps to provide an overview of the Kangaroo Mother Care for health personnel.