Objective: To measure the impact of intermittent kangaroo mother care on weight-gain of neonates in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods: The randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Neonatology, the Children Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Pakistan, from March to October, 2018, and recruited newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. The subjects were randomised into case and control groups. Intermittent kangaroo mother care was given in the case group for seven days. Data was collected and analysed using SPSS 23.
Results: Of the 153 neonates, 140(91.5%) were included; 70(50%) in each group. The most common reason for admission was bronchopneumonia 49(35%). In the case group, average weight gain was 10.22±1.65 grams/kg/day compared to 7.87±1.71 in the control group (p=0.0001). The average length of stay in the case group was significantly low compared to the control group (p=0.003). Multivariate analysis determined the effect of kangaroo mother care therapy as effective (p<0.0001).
Conclusions: Intermittent kangaroo mother care was found to be effective for improving weight-gain in neonates in addition to the conventional treatment.
Keywords: Intermittent kangaroo mother care, Neonate, Intensive care unit, Randomised controlled trial, Weight-gain..