Kangaroo care

Common card · No. 401667

Kangaroo mother care (KMC), which involves skin-to-skin contact (SSC), is an intervention to care for premature or low birth weight (LBW) infants. The technique and intervention is the recommended evidence-based care for LBW infants by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2003. In the 2003 WHO Kangaroo Mother Care practical guide, KMC is defined as a "powerful, easy-to-use method to promote the health and well-being of infants born preterm as well as full-term", with its key components being: Early, continuous, and prolonged SSC between the mother and the baby; Exclusive breastfeeding (ideally); Initiated in a hospital setting and can be continued at home; Allows for early discharge of the baby to the family; After discharge, includes close followup  The early KMC technique was first presented by Rey and Martinez in 1983, in Bogotá, Colombia, where it was developed as an alternative to inadequate and insufficient incubator care for those preterm newborn infants who had overcome initial...

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