It is well documented that the stress of separation of mother and baby can lead to short-term physiological instability as well as neurological, sociological or psychological consequences that may last a lifetime.
Objective: The goal was to estimate the effect of kangaroo mother care (KMC) on physiological and biochemical parameters of preterm infant stress and maternal stress in neonatal intensive care.
Methods: The investigation involved 112 preterm infants. Two groups were compared according to the mean duration of KMC during 12 days of study: the KMC group (mean duration more than 90 min daily) and the control group (less than 90 min).
Results: Kangaroo mother care for more than 90 min on average per day in preterm infants is associated 12 days after the intervention with lower mean cortisol levels (p = 0.02), greater weight gain and less need for parenteral nutrition in preterm infants, as well as less postpartum depression (p = 0.02) and lower cortisol levels (p = 0.002) in the mothers of preterm infants.
Conclusions: This study suggests that KMC can be used to improve the stress of preterm infants and their mothers, and that the greater weight gain observed in these preterm infants could contribute to a shorter average hospital stay and lower healthcare expenditure.
Keywords: cortisol; kangaroo mother care; neonatal intensive care; preterm; stress.