Skin-to-skin contact helps underweight babies survive

The Kangaroo mother care, or skin-to-skin contact with mother and child, may help underweight babies survive, says a new study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Kangaroo mother care (KMC) in the first days of life may reduce low birth weight infant deaths by more than one-third compared to conventional care.

“While KMC or skin-to-skin care is particularly useful for low birth weight babies born where medical resources are limited, developed and developing countries are moving to ‘normalize’ KMC or skin-to-skin as a beneficial practice for all newborns and mothers,” said senior author Grace Chan, MD, MPH, PhD, instructor at Harvard Chan School and a faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital.

The research was lead by Ellen Boundy and was published online December 22, 2015 in Pediatrics.

They found that among newborns weighing less than 2000 grams (4.4 pounds) who survived to receive KMC, there was a 36% reduction in mortality and 47% lower risk of sepsis or major infection. Newborns who received KMC also had higher oxygen levels and head circumference growth, as well as lower pain measures. In addition, KMC increased the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge by 50%. The results were relatively consistent across low- middle- and high-income countries.

Category: Top Story, Wellness and Complementary Therapies