AN ASSESSMENT OF KANGAROO MOTHER CARE FOR PRETERM LOW-BIRTHWEIGHT INFANTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN VIETNAM

Abstract

Introduction: In Vietnam, kangaroo mother care (KMC) has been applied to preterm low-birthweight infants as far back as the late of 1990s. Despite the effectiveness of KMC at promoting mothers’ health and infants’ development, there have been no previous studies on this method conducted in Vietnam. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of KMC intervention upon the physical heath and breastfeeding behavior of preterm infants of low birthweight. Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. A total sampling method was applied to enroll all preterm cases from July 2017 to July 2018 that met the criteria. The KMC interventions were divided into three groups: early, medium, and late KMC. Weight, height and head circumference were measured immediately after delivery and at the age of 40 weeks. Microsoft Excel and SPSS were used for descriptive statistics, t-tests, and chi-square tests. Result: Infants subjected to early KMC gained more weight, height, and head circumference compared to those subjected to medium or late intervention. Early KMC also promoted a higher percentage of breastfeeding and a lower percentage of rehospitalization at the age of 40 weeks. Conclusion: KMC is an effective intervention for preterm low-birthweight infants that should be more considered for the future healthcare.