Does kangaroo mother care improve preterm infant's temperature?

Abstract

Abstract: Kangaroo mother care is a method of care of preterm infants (before 37 completed weeks of gestation). The method involves infants being carried, usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact. This improves stability of preterm infant temperature. The aim of the study: To investigate the effect of kangaroo mother care on preterm infant’s temperature in a neonatal intensive care unit at the Khartoum teaching hospital - Sudan. Methodology: The study design was Nonequivalent Groups Design (a pretest-posttest randomized experiment), 120 mother-preterm infant pairs were selected through purposive sampling. Subjects: The target population for this study were all medically stable preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at the time of the study. Preterm infants of gestational age 30–36 weeks (n=120), 60 intervention groups received KMC and another 60 were control group received conventional care. The researcher was available five days per week, five hours per day from 9 am to 2pm. The average number of cases that was taken per week ranged from8 to 10 premature infants and their mothers. Setting: This study was conducted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Khartoum teaching hospital. Tools: The tools of study divided into two tools; Tool I: Questionnaire was used to collect the demographic data related to preterm infants and their mothers in the intervention and control group, and auxiliary temperature before and after kangaroo mother care for intervention group and also done for control group in conventional care. Tool II: Mercury thermometer. The results: Independent–sample t test was calculated and showed that there is a significant difference regarding the mother's age, and preterm infant weight (P-value = .06 & . 00) Respectively. And there is no significant difference regarding preterm infants gestational age, and preterm infants age since birth (P-value = .82 & . 50) respectively. Mothers' educational level the majority were secondary school, (40.83%), and the lowest were intermediate school (11.67%). The majority of preterm gender were male (60%), and the other was female (40%). Regarding preterm infant's temperature, independent–sample t test showed that there is no significant difference between intervention and control group before KMC (P-value = .86). And there is a significant difference between intervention and control group after KMC (P-value = .01). Paired sample test investigate that, there is a significant difference regarding the level of temperature for intervention group before and after KMC (P-value:. 000). Conclusion: KMC was effective and positively promoted premature infant's temperature than those cared by the conventional care. Recommendation: Educational training program for all neonatal nurses in skills necessary to implement the KMC and further studies should be conducted to assess the neonatal nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding KMC. Abbreviations: Skin to Skin Contact (SSC), World Health Organization (WHO), Kangaroo Care (KC), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), Gestational Age (GA). Keywords: kangaroo mother care, preterm infants, temperature.