Durations of Kangaroo Care and Premature Infants’ Biophysiological Profile, Anthropometric Measurements and Stress of Maternal Role Attachment

Abstract

In China, where more than 2 million premature infants are born each year, ranking second in the world estimates of preterm births, majority of hospitals have not conducted Kangaroo Care (KC) though it is now widely accepted to be beneficial for premature infants and mothers. The researcher’s review of literature showed that no research focused on durations of KC and premature infants and their mothers. Objective: This study aimed to determine the difference in effectiveness of various durations of KC on premature infants’ biophysiological profile (heart rate/HR, respiratory rate/RR, oxygen/O2 saturation, and body temperature/BT), anthropometric measurements (body weight/BW, body length/BL, and head circumference/HC), and on stress level of maternal role attachment. Methods: Quantitative method is used with a quasi-experimental, one group pretest-posttest design. A purposive sampling of 36 mother-infant pairs were selected based on inclusion criteria. Biophysiological Profile and Anthropometric Measurements Record was used to measure the premature infants’ HR, RR, O2 saturation, and BT. Parental Role Alteration Questionnaire was used to score the stress level of maternal role attachment. Data were analyzed by statistical tools such as mean, median, independent t-Test, One-Way ANOVA, and Two-Way ANOVA and Tukey Test. Results: Results showed for three-duration (2-, 4-, and 6-hour) comparation, HR, RR, BT, BW, HC, and stress level of maternal role among the three durations has a significant difference, but there is no significant difference in O2 saturation and BL. Conclusion: The study found that long duration of KC has more effective impact on the stability of HR, RR, and BT, the growth of BW and HC in premature infants, and on stress level of maternal role attachment. Further studies are needed to study the durations of KC and O2 saturation and BL.