Kangaroo Mother Care: A method for protecting high-risk low-birth-weight and premature infants against developmental delay

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between intervention with Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and the subsequent mental development of the infants. In this prospective study, 431 low-birth-weight and premature infants (≤1801 g) were assigned randomly to KMC or Traditional Care. Of these, 336 (78%) received the Griffiths test at 12 months of corrected age. Results: After control for the infant’s health at birth, family socioeconomic status and mother labor and delivery characteristics, the KMC infants had a higher IQ than those given traditional care (TC). The difference was most highly significant for infants who were more premature (30–32 weeks of gestational age), had required intensive care, and had a diagnosis of doubtful or abnormal neurological development at 6 months. The main impact of KMC was on the development of personal relations and on planning functions related to brain developmental stage at birth. Discussion: The KMC intervention can be viewed as a developmentally supportive care, in which parents are guided in managing their biological parenting abilities and which provides “brain care” during a highly sensitive period of a preterm infant’s neurological development.