Kangaroo Mother Care at Low Birth Weight

Abstract

Kangaroo Care Method is a treatment given to babies with Low Birth Weight (LBW) as an alternative to an incubator. This method uses direct contact between the mother's skin and baby's skin or skin to skin contact. The kangaroo method not only replaces the care of the incubator but also provides benefits that cannot be provided by the incubator. Increasing the baby's body temperature, stabilizing heart rate and breathing, and increasing milk production, decreases the incidence of infection in infants. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of the kangaroo method on LBW in Karawang Hospital. The cross-sectional research method uses secondary data through treatment records in the medical record. The study sample was 106 LBW infants treated at Karawang Hospital in the 2018 period. Analysts used average difference test data to see the effectiveness of using the kangaroo method in increasing infant weight. Results: There is an effect of the use of the kangaroo method to increase the baby's weight P-value 0,0001. Recommendation: It is expected that the use of the kangaroo method on LBW can be made into policy at the hospital with the support of health workers and facilities so that families can implement kangaroo mother care (KMC) in full.