The Effect of Kangaroo Mother Care in Increasing Body Weight and Temperature in Premature Infants: Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in toddlers by 7.5% - 12.5% in various regions of the world. Premature is one of the causes of low birth weight and is a factor that increases the risk of hypothermia. Kangaroo Mother Care is a powerful and easy-to-use method for improving the long-term health and well-being of premature babies. This study aimed to estimate the average effect of Kangaroo Mother Care therapy on increasing body weight and temperature of premature infants. Subjects and Method: This was a meta-analysis and a systematic. The articles used were obtained from PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria used were full text articles with the Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design, the study subjects were premature infants, the treatment provided was Kangaroo Mother Care with a comparison of conventional care, weight and temperature assessment of premature infants using stan­dard scales and thermometers, articles publish­ed in English. The PICO research problems are as follows. Population= prema­ture babies. Intervention= Kangaroo Mother Care. Com­pa­rison= Conven­tional Method Care. Out­come= weight and temperature of premature infants. This study used the effect size (Standardized Mean Difference). Meta analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 with a Random Effect Model. Results: A total of 15 articles conducted a meta-analysis review of this study. The meta-analysis of 11 articles showed that Kangaroo Mother Care increased weight gain in prema­ture infants compared to conventional method care (Standardized Mean Difference= 0.54; 95% CI= 0.17 to 0.92; p= 0.004). Meta analysis on 4 articles showed that Kangaroo Mother Care increased the temperature in preterm infants higher than the conventional method of care, statistically not significant (Standardized Mean Difference = 0.48; 95% CI= -0.23 to 1.19; p=0.190). Conclusion: Kangaroo Mother Care is effective in increasing body weight and temperature in premature infants Keywords: Kangaroo care, skin-to-skin contact, weight, temperature, preterm infant Correspondence: Ines Ratni Pravitasari. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: inesratnip@gmail.com. Mobile: +6285­649507909. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2020), 05(05): 563-578 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2020.05.05.10.