Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Adaptation of Kangaroo Mother Care for Community-Based Application

Journal of Perinatology volume 23, pages 646–651 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Working with a multidisciplinary team of Ecuadorians, Bangladeshis and Americans, we developed a simple protocol for community-based implementation of kangaroo mother care (CKMC) that does not require birth weight or clinical judgment to identify which newborns should receive CKMC. CKMC could stabilize newborns and possibly reduce neonatal mortality where there is little medical care for newborns and low birth weight (LBW) is common.

STUDY DESIGN: During their CKMC training, community-based workers identified 35 expectant or recently delivered women in the pilot study area and taught them about CKMC. Women were interviewed at 1 month postpartum to evaluate their experience with CKMC.

RESULTS: In all, 77% of mothers initiated skin-to-skin care and 85% with LBW babies did so (37% were LBW). CKMC mothers delayed newborn bathing. Few slept upright with their newborns.

CONCLUSIONS: CKMC was quickly and popularly adopted. A randomized controlled cluster trial is planned to determine whether CKMC reduces neonatal mortality.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives. State of the World's Newborns. Washington: Save the Children; 2001.

  2. World Health Organization. Low Birth Weight — A Tabulation Of Available Information. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1992 (WHO/MCH/92.2).

  3. Paneth N, Kiely JL, Wallenstein S, Marcus M, Pakter J, Susser M . Newborn intensive care and neonatal mortality in low birth-weight infants: a population study. N Engl J Med 1982;307(3):149–155.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. van den Berg BJ, Oechsli FW . Prematurity. In: Bracken MB, editor. Perinatal Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press; 1984. p. 69–85.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Shibuya K, Murray CJL . Low birth weight. In: Murray CJL, Lopez AD, editors. Health Dimensions of Sex and Reproduction. Global Burden of Disease and Injury Series. Vol. III. Boston: Harvard University Press; 1998. p. 389–428.

  6. Rey ES, Martinez HG . Manejo racional del niño premature. In: Conferencias y curso de medicina fetal y neonatal. Bogotá, Colombia: UNICEF; 1983. p. 137–51.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Sloan NL, León Camacho LW, Pinto Rojas E, Stern C . The kangaroo mother method: a randomized controlled trial of an alternative method of care for stabilized low birth weight infants. Lancet 1994;334:782–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Charpak N, Ruiz-Pelaez J, Charpak Y, Rey-Martinez . Kangaroo mother program: an alternative way of caring for low birth weight infants — one year mortality in a two cohort study. Pediatrics 1996;94:804–810.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cattaneo A, Davanzo R, Wroku B et al. Kangaroo mother care for low birth weight infants: a randomized controlled trial in different settings. Acta Paediatr 1988;87:976–985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. World Health Organization. Coverage of Maternity Care. A Listing of Available Information. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1997 (WHO/RHT/MSM 96.28).

  11. Niport, Mitra and Associates, ORC Macro.Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 1999–2000. Calverton: Macro International Inc; 2001.

  12. Christensson K, Bhat GJ, Amadi BC, Erikkson B, Höjer B . Randomised study of skin-to-skin versus incubator care for rewarming low-risk hypothermic neonates. Lancet 1999;352:1115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives.State of the World's Newborns: Bangladesh. Washington: Save the Children; 2001.

  14. Bosque EM, Brady JP, Affonso DD, Wahlberg V . Continuous physiologic measures of kangaroo vs. incubatory care in a tertiary level nursery. Pediatr Res 1988;23:402a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Affonso D, Wahlberg B, Perssons B . Mothers’ reaction to kangaroo care. Inf Behav and Dev 1988;11:4.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Whitelaw A, Heisterkamp G, Sleath K, Acolet D, Richards M . Skin-to-skin contact for very low birth weight infants and their mothers: a randomized trial of kangaroo care. Arch Dis Child 1988;63:1377–1381.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Conde-Agudelo A, Diaz-Rossello JL, Belizan JM . Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birthweight infants (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1. Oxford: Update Software; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Kurshid Talukder and the Institute of Child and Mother Health, Monica Ponce and Lenín Leon Camacho of the Maternidad Isidro Ayora Hospital in Ecuador, Rehka Folia and Dr. Ruth Lennox of the Lamb Hospital in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, Drs. Chowdhury Jalal and Zeba Mahmud of BRAC, Ms. Jesmin Akter, Zainal M. Abdullah Noman and Mitra and Associates, Dr. Emma Ottolenghi of the Population Council/Washington, DC, Dr. Ubaider Rob and Population Council/Bangladesh for their participation in adapting KMC, and Eric Hull and the Pubcomm Group Inc. for production of the CKMC pamphlet, and Ms. Jill Durocher of the Population Council/New York for her assistance in the development of the data-collection instruments, databases and consistency checks. We also thank Dr. David Rush for his participation in review of the study findings, and the community nutrition supervisors and promoters and the mothers who participated in the study. We thank the Population Council's Robert H. Ebert program and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for supporting the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (I.Q.,A.C.), BRAC Centre, Mohakali, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Iftekhar Quasem MD & Anita Chowdhury MA

  2. Population Council (N.L.S., B.W.), New York, NY, USA

    Nancy L Sloan Dr PH & Beverly Winikoff MD

  3. Mitra and Associates (S.A.), Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Salahuddin Ahmed MD

  4. Division of Population and Family Health, Columbia University School of Public Health (A.M.R.C.), New York, NY, USA

    A M R Chowdhury PhD

Authors
  1. Iftekhar Quasem MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nancy L Sloan Dr PH
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anita Chowdhury MA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Salahuddin Ahmed MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Beverly Winikoff MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A M R Chowdhury PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This study was supported by the Population Council's Robert H. Ebert program and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Quasem, I., Sloan, N., Chowdhury, A. et al. Adaptation of Kangaroo Mother Care for Community-Based Application. J Perinatol 23, 646–651 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210999

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210999

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links