Haya kwa wale wavivu wa kusoma.
Kangaroo mother care started immediately after birth critical for saving lives, new research shows
Immediate kangaroo mother care for preterm and low birthweight babies requires dedicated Mother-Newborn Intensive Care Units
- Kangaroo mother care, which involves skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding, significantly improves a premature or low birthweight baby’s chances of survival
- Starting kangaroo mother care immediately after birth has the potential to save up to 150,000 more lives each year, compared with the current recommendation of starting it only once a baby is stable
- Mother-Newborn Intensive Care Units (ICUs) will be critical to support the mother, or a surrogate, in providing this immediate, ongoing skin-to-skin contact from birth.
The results of a new clinical trial published today in the
New England Journal of Medicine, show that immediate kangaroo mother care, which involves skin-to-skin contact with the mother and exclusive breastfeeding,
started as soon as a preterm or low birthweight baby is born, dramatically improves survival.
Current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations indicate starting kangaroo mother care only after the baby is stabilized in an incubator or warmer, which can take on average 3-7 days. This new study suggests that, when compared with the existing practice, starting kangaroo mother care immediately after birth can
save up to 150,000 more lives each year.
“Keeping the mother and baby together right from birth with zero separation will revolutionize the way neonatal intensive care is practiced for babies born early or small,” said
Dr Rajiv Bahl, Head of the Newborn Unit at WHO, and the coordinator of the study. “When started at the soonest possible time, kangaroo mother care can save more lives, improve health outcomes for babies and ensures the constant presence of the mother with her sick baby.”
The results of the immediate kangaroo mother care study indicate the need for a global paradigm shift in the care of small babies with zero separation of babies from their mothers by having dedicated
Mother-Newborn ICUs. “The best way to nurture the newly born low birthweight baby, including in high-income countries, is through ongoing skin-to-skin contact with the mother, in a mother-newborn couplet care unit that provides care and medical treatment for both,” said
Dr Bjorn Westrup, of the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and a technical expert for the study.
Kangaroo mother care is already known to be effective, reducing mortality by 40% among hospitalized infants with a birth weight less than 2.0 kg when started once they are clinically stable. However, this important new study provides new evidence to show a further
25% reduction when it is initiated immediately after birth, either with the mother or a surrogate.