Topic > Kangaroo Mother Care Case Study - 1619

The purpose of this research is to study the effects that Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has on the breastfeeding of mothers of very preterm and preterm infants. The study explored the relationship between the extent of KMC and three separate variables: breastfeeding duration, quantity, and mechanism. There was no theoretical framework in this study. The subjects included 300 mothers, including 103 who gave birth to very preterm infants (less than 32 weeks) and the other 197 to premature infants (between 32 and 36 weeks). This research obtained two sets of data insights; first they tracked the amount of skin-to-skin contact each day during the hospital stay, and second they tracked breastfeeding success after discharge. The aim of the study was to follow two groups of mothers who were diabetic, had premature babies, or had low birth weight babies. Focused measurement areas included total number of days spent in hospital, breastfeeding success, NICU admission, and parental gratification. The researcher in this article states that this study was completed because no other research has been conducted on kangaroo therapy related to the particular population of preterm or low birth weight infants. This study did not have a theoretical framework. The subjects included 214 mothers, with 107 using pouch therapy and the other 107 using standard therapy. The babies involved had to be in the 34-36+6 week of gestation, have low birth weight or be born to diabetic mothers. The data collected regarding the length of hospitalization came from the patients' medical records. Breastfeeding success was collected from the primary care institution. Parents were also asked to complete an evaluation of their experience using Kangaroo Care. Quantitative data was analyzed by placing it on a spreadsheet and then tested using Fisher's exact, Pearson Chi Square, and Mann-Whitney tests. The qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis, which grouped common words within the evaluation comments. The data results showed that the average length of hospitalization decreased from 5 days to 4 days in the group that received Kangaroo Care. The number of babies admitted to the NICU also decreased from 8 to 5, but this was insignificant for the study. The data showed a 17% difference between the study and control groups in breastfeeding success. The study group, which received Kangaroo therapy, showed that 72% of babies were breastfed. On the other hand, the control group, which received standard care, showed 55%.