OBJECTIVES When you have completed this unit you should be able to: Describe Kangaroo Mother Care. Give the history of Kangaroo Mother Care. List the components of Kangaroo Mother Care. Give the advantages of Kangaroo Mother Care. Explain why Kangaroo Mother Care is particularly important for low birth weight infants. Explain the safety of Kangaroo Mother Care.

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43-1 WHAT IS KANGAROO MOTHER CARE?

Kangaroo Mother Care (or skin-to-skin care), is a simple, easy method of caring for newborn infants where the mother uses her own body temperature to keep her infant warm. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is particularly useful for nursing low birth weight infants (infants with a birth weight below 2500 g). KMC provides the infant with the basic needs for survival, i.e. mother’s warmth, stimulation, breast milk, love and protection. As 20 million low birth weight (LBW) infants are born each year worldwide, KMC has become a very important way of caring for these high risk infants. Unfortunately, attempts to lower the prevalence of low birth weight infants in poor countries has not been successful.

*** KMC reminds one of the way mother kangaroos (and other marsupials) care for and keep their infants warm in a special pouch. The mother kangaroo carries her infant against her body both day and night. While in the pouch, the infant is warm, protected and able to suckle whenever it wants.

The word “mother” was added to kangaroo mother care to emphasize the importance of the mother and her breast milk. As the word “kangaroo” is foreign to many people in South Africa, it may be preferable in future to use another term for KMC. For example, the Zulu word “ukugona” (to hold or cuddle) has been suggested.

43-2 WHERE DID KANGAROO MOTHER CARE START?

The idea of nursing an infant skin-to-skin against the mother’s bare breasts is not new and has probably been used for thousands of years. However, the idea was made popular in modern times by health care workers in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia in South America. From here it has been introduced into many developed and developing countries.

*** Doctors Rey and Martinez first started KMC in Bogotá, Colombia during 1979 in response to a crisis with the large number of low birth weight infants, a shortage of staff and facilities, overcrowded nurseries and a high mortality from hospital infection.

43-3 WHY IS KANGAROO MOTHER CARE NATURAL?

Many animals give birth to young who are not immediately able to run and follow their mother. They have to be carried by the mother or hidden away while she looks for food and water. Humans and other primates (e.g. monkeys and baboons) carry their newborn infants, either in their arms or against their bodies. The infant is emotionally and physically programmed to remain constantly with the mother. As these infants are relatively immature when they are born, they need constant care for some time after delivery. In this position the infant grows and develops rapidly. KMC is therefore a “natural” way of nursing a human infant. Many women want to keep their infants close to them. Using their own bodies to keep their infant warm gives many mothers a sense of satisfaction and pleasure.

*** In hunter-gatherer societies and most non-western cultures, mothers demonstrated the “carry” pattern of infant care. The infant is always with the mother and breastfeeds frequently. In contrast, many animals such as small antelope and hares, demonstrate the “cache” or “nesting” pattern of care, where the infants are hidden while the mother searches for food. In the artificial environment of western society, this latter pattern of infant care has become common. Infants are often left alone to sleep in a cot or pram. Many believe it is not the best pattern of caring for a human infant. KMCt is a return to natural care and often preferable to incubator care.

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