ReliefWeb

Kangaroo Mother Care is a low-cost, high-impact intervention for premature/low-birth weight newborns and should be implemented in all refugee health operations.

It is estimated that globally approximately 16% of newborns are born with a low birth weight (<2500 g). This includes both premature newborns (11%) and those small for gestational age. The health consequences are significant with complications from preterm birth representing the leading cause of death for children under 5 globally. Fortunately, the majority of these deaths can be prevented with proper care, including in low-resource settings and during humanitarian emergencies.

Kangaroo mother care is a low-cost, high-impact method of improving outcomes for the low birth weight (LBW) newborn. It targets the small newborn’s essential needs – warmth, exclusive breastfeeding, and infection prevention. KMC should not be confused with routine skin-to-skin care at birth. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends skin-to-skin care immediately after delivery for every newborn to ensure warmth and early initiation of breast feeding in the delivery room. KMC involves providing long-duration, sustained skin-to-skin contact for low birth weight newborns, along with exclusive breast milk feeding (breastfeeding or feeding expressed breastmilk through feeding tube, spoon or cup); and early discharge home in the kangaroo position once stable and gaining weight.

Research has shown that KMC reduces mortality up to 40%; reduces infection/sepsis including nosocomial infections; and improves breastfeeding and weight gain compared to conventional care. Due to these benefits, the WHO recommends KMC for babies weighing less than 2000g at birth, and some national systems recommend it for all babies <2500g.