Strategies discussed at the XIIth international conference on Kangaroo mother care for implementation on a countrywide scale

Abstract

Aim: Building strategies for the country-level dissemination of Kangaroo mother care (KMC) to reduce the mortality rate in preterm and low birth weight babies and improve quality of life. KMC is an evidence-based healthcare method for these infants. However, KMC implementation at the global level remains low. Methods: The international network in Kangaroo mother brought 172 KMC professionals from 33 countries together for a 2-day workshop held in conjunction with the XIIth International KMC Conference in Bogota, Colombia, in November 2018. Participants worked in clusters to formulate strategies for country-level dissemination and scale-up according to seven pre-established objectives. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

“So sometimes, it looks like it’s a neglected ward”: Health worker perspectives on implementing kangaroo mother care in southern Malawi

“…Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is vital to the survival, well-being and development of small and premature infants; as such, it is an important intervention towards the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 to end preventable neonatal deaths [ 1 ]. Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal death around the world, accounting for 36% of neonatal deaths [ 2 ] and hospital-based KMC has the potential to avert 50% of preterm deaths [ 3 ].…”

“…KMC is also associated with increased exclusive breastfeeding [ 5 ]. Developed initially in 1978 by Colombian pediatrician Edgar Rey as a technologically simple solution to a shortage of incubators, KMC is now considered to be a universal best-care tool in both high- and low-resource settings [ 1 , 6 ]. Kangaroo mother care is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the routine care of low birthweight babies weighing 2000g or less at birth, initiating as soon as newborns are clinically stable [ 7 ].…”

“…Kangaroo mother care is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the routine care of low birthweight babies weighing 2000g or less at birth, initiating as soon as newborns are clinically stable [ 7 ]. Yet in spite of over four decades of evidence and WHO recommendations, there are gaps in its routine uptake at health facilities [ 1 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Maternal Experience of Intermittent Kangaroo Mother Care for Late Preterm Infants: A Mixed-Methods Study in Four Postnatal Wards in China

“…The challenges of introducing, initiating and continuing kangaroo mother care on postnatal wards could differ from those faced on neonatal units with early preterm newborns. Most of the mothers in our study had not heard of KMC before, the length of stay on the postnatal ward was relatively short and due to the larger size (over 2500g) of many of the newborns in our study, they may not have tolerated long periods of KMC as well as smaller newborns (15,16). Intermittent KMC was promoted instead of continuous KMC, which has been more commonly used in resource-rich countries for varying periods of time (17,18).…”

“…Incidence of infants crying could be due to the larger size of our study population with most of the newborns weighing over 2500g. Compared to early preterm newborns larger newborns are better able to regulate their own body temperature and may only tolerate short periods of KMC (15,16). Care procedures were another reason given for discontinuation of KMC, as doctors or medical staff needed to perform certain activities, with better planning and scheduling of medical procedures and checks this cause of discontinuation could be avoided.…”