Good short-term outcomes of kangaroo mother care in infants with a low birth weight in a rural South African hospital

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine the outcome of kangaroo mother care (KMC) in low birth weight infants at a community hospital. MethodsThis descriptive study included 87 mothers and their low birth weight infants who were in a stable condition and eligible for KMC at Dr JS Moroka Hospital, Thaba Nchu. The infants were assessed four times: at birth, twice during hospitalisation, and a week after discharge. Infants received breast milk exclusively. ResultsRegarding the mothers' obstetric history (n=87), gravidity ranged from 1 to 7 (median 3), with a 43% incidence of miscarriage. The median birth weight of the infants (n=87) was 1.5 kg (first assessment), the discharge weight (third assessment) was 1.8 kg, and a week after discharge (fourth assessment) it was 2.2 kg. Initially the infants lost weight significantly from birth to the second assessment (95% CI for median decrease [-0.02; -0.01]), but significantly gained weight from the second to the third (95% CI for median increase [0.27; 0.33]) and from the third to the fourth assessment (95% CI for median increase [0.32; 0.45]). Approximately half (49%) of the infants had developed jaundice by the time of second assessment. These babies had a significantly lower birth weight [0.12;0.30]. ConclusionOur findings confirm that infants with a low birth weight treated with KMC can have a good growth pattern, and exclusive breast milk is sufficient to guarantee such growth. Kangaroo mother care is a safe method for stable infants with a low birth weight in a community hospital. SA Fam Pract 2007;49(5):15

Prevalence of anaemia and associated factors among preterm infants at six weeks chronological age at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

“…A high burden of anaemia found in this study could be due to the physiological post-natal haemoglobin drop which occurs in new-borns during the first weeks of life and reaches nadir level at approximately 4-6 weeks in preterm infants. However, other studies in Brazil [ 2 ], India [ 14 ], South Africa [ 3 ], Cameroon [ 7 ] and Ethiopia [ 6 ] reported lower proportions. This disparity of proportions across studies may partly be explained by the differences in the age of the study participants.…”

“…The prevalence of anaemia varies among studies with a range from 6% to 70% depending on post-natal age [ 2 - 6 ]. In rural South Africa at Moroka Hospital, 9.2% of preterm babies had anaemia before discharge [ 3 ] while in Cameroon and Ethiopia the prevalence of anaemia were reported to be 32.9% and 23.2% respectively [ 7 , 8 ]. In Tanzania around 336,000 babies are born prematurely annually which translates to around 17% of all live births [ 7 ] and magnitude of anaemia is estimated to be 58% among children aged 6 to 59 months [ 8 ].…”

Avaliação dos parâmetros fisiológicos em recém-nascidos pré-termos de baixo peso antes e após a aplicação do método mãe-canguru

“…Rodriguez et al [17] avaliou 87 mães e seus fi lhos que foram submetidos ao MMC, acompanhando sua forma de nutrição durante os dias de internação e pode concluir que a falta do uso de fórmulas para alimentação, fortifi cantes e o uso abreviado do MMC em comparação com outros estudos podem resultar em menor ganho de peso.…”

The outcome of newborns admitted to kangaroo mother care units at regional hospitals in KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa

“…[6] KMC is proven as an inexpensive and effective model of newborn care associated with lower rates of hospital-associated infection, better weight gain and shorter hospital stays. [7] While much is known about the longer-term outcomes [8] and impact of KMC on neonatal mortality, little is known about the short-term need for babies in KMC to be readmitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The present study was undertaken to describe the morbidity and mortality of babies admitted to a KMC unit.…”