Mean cardiorespiratory and temperature outcomes remained within clinically acceptable ranges during KC. Apnea, bradycardia, and periodic breathing were absent during KC. Regular breathing increased for infants receiving KC compared to infants receiving standard NICU care.

Many preterm infants cared for in incubators do not experience Kangaroo Care (KC), skin-to-skin contact with their mothers, due to fear of body heat loss when being held outside the incubator. A randomized clinical trial of 16 KC and 13 control infants using a pretest-test-posttest design of three consecutive interfeeding intervals of 2.5 to 3.0 h duration each was conducted over 1 day. Infant abdominal and toe temperatures were measured in and out of the incubator; maternal breast temperature was measured during KC. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no change in abdominal temperature across all periods and between groups. Toe temperatures were significantly higher during KC than incubator periods, and maternal breast temperature met each infant's neutral thermal zone requirements within 5 min of onset of KC. Preterm infants similar to those studied here will maintain body warmth with up to 3 h of KC.

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