Acceptance of kangaroo mother care by mothers of premature babies

Abstract

Background: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a low-cost method of care for premature infants in areas with inadequate incubators and/or power outages. Assessing mothers' acceptance of KMC will help in the scale-up of interventions. Aims: To investigate factors that influence the acceptance of KMC in the care of premature babies at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical design using a mixed approach, conducted at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia. A total of 60 mothers and 5 key informants made up the participants. Findings: Overall, 60% of women found KMC acceptable and were able to practise continuously, in spite of not having prior knowledge of KMC. The longest-serving key informant at the KMC unit had served for 2 years, and 3 of the 5 informants had not received any training on KMC. Conclusions: Mothers accepted KMC after they were given information and education through good communication.